On the Run for Some Trouble
by CherryJay8
Summary: *AU* Things may come and things may go... but things for Cole don't go that way... Living with the biggest evil in the village makes things "iffy". Everyone refers to this evil as "him", afraid of saying his real name. Years later, Cole visits the village again, however, things begin to change. For the better, and for the worse. Rated T for safety
1. the Beginning

**Hi guys! I'm back! And with a new story! Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**On the Run for Some Trouble**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It all started when he stumbled upon _him_. The moment _he_ laid his purple eyes on the little boy, Cole shriveled back.

"I – I didn't see, I'm sorry… I –"

The man under the hood glared down at Cole.

"You should really watch where you're going;" he began, "what if I was carrying something other than fruits? How about, sharp tools?"

Cole looked back at his eyes, they _were_ purple. Cole took a step back. "I shouldn't be talking to you," he said, wanting to turn around.

The sorcerer raised a brow and raised a fist. "Where are you going? You need to be taught a lesson, little one. What's your name?"

Cole's legs began to shake. He felt like he was being pulled forward. "C – C – C – Cole…" Suddenly, Cole was pulled down in front. "Let go of me! I'm just a kid! Please!"

The man didn't listen; instead, he pulled Cole closer, consuming him in the darkness.

**XXX**

"I can't get it right!" Cole began to complain. He looked over his shoulder to find his teacher sitting in a tall chair, back at the 10 year old. Cole groaned and fumbled with his fingers. "Just, one, more, try!"

A bright flash exploded in front of him and he was sent back to the back of the chair. "Oof!" He slid down and looked up. The chair swiveled around.

He sat there, staring down at the raven haired boy, with blood shot purple eyes; a smirk worn on his face.

"Working any better?" He grimaced. Cole shook his head.

Cole lifted himself off the ground and stood eye level to Dust. "How do you do it? Every time I try, they always backfire!"

Dust began to laugh, sending a chill up Cole's back. The sorcerer flicked Cole's chin, "Now, now, practice makes perfect, doesn't it?" Cole nodded. "Good, now go fetch me a snack." Cole nodded again and ran out of the room to the kitchen.

He reached up for the cupboards and dug for something, anything! Suddenly, an idea came into mind. He stepped back and lifted his hand. With a quick snap of his fingers, the box of crackers appeared in his hands.

"Yes! Yes!" Cole cried, "I did it!"

"Where's my snack?" Dust yelled from afar, interfering in Cole's victory.

"Coming!" Cole yelled back, smiling as he walked out of the kitchen with the box of crackers held close to his chest.

* * *

"I'm telling yourself, Jay, this, will be the biggest hit in the village!" He cheered as he added the last part to his project. Pressing against a small ice blue button, he stepped back as his project opened his eyes. "Yes! Now, say 'hi'."

The silver droid opened his mouth, "Hello." Jay beamed.

"Yes! Now, _Zane_, you are going to help me with costumers. If I ever have any," Jay began but then ended with a heavy sigh.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"My parents said I'm too young to open a booth in the village and sell my inventions. But, look at you, you worked! Maybe some people will come and visit, and who knows?" It was true, Jay was just 8, but he still felt the courage inside; he knew he was capable of something.

Back in the junkyard, he would wander around playing with all the spare parts. Eventually, he would build something, but most of the times, they weren't useful at all.

Zane looked up. "What – what is it?" Jay asked him.

"Our first customer, make that _customers_," Zane answered in a monotone voice, although it was meant to sound joyful. Jay jumped and ran to the front of the booth.

Another young boy with messy auburn hair stood on the other side next to a beautiful young girl with a black bob. Her eyes were a soft brown color, but just so hard for Jay to get out of his head.

"H – Hi," he stuttered, trying to direct his gaze on the boy. Zane fixed his hand on the side of Jay's head and turned it to face the boy. "What –"

"My sister and I saw you come down here and whip up a pretty neat booth in just a few minutes. Wanted to come by and greet a new neighbor," the boy grinned and looked over Jay's shoulder to the inside of the stall. "Name's Kai and you are?"

"What's your sister's name?" Jay said without thinking.

"Okay, _what's your sister's name? _Who's the tin man?"

Jay shook his head. "JAY! I'm Jay, and this, is Zane," he said, motioning to the droid.

"Well, Jay, this is Nya," Kai told Jay. "Don't tell me you're interested in her!" Jay bit the inside of his cheek. The brunette saw the confused look on _Zane_; he stretched out a hand, "Friends?"

* * *

Lloyd sighed at the boy staring back at him. He was never going to grow up to become as great as his dad; he was never going to be his village's mighty protector.

"Don't you fret, son," his father said, resting a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "You will be the finest… truth be told, probably the most memorable! Just remember why you are par – taking this role."

The young boy's eyes replied with a yes. "For the good of the people," he recited, his father repeating Lloyd's words silently.

"Understand?"

Lloyd nodded.

"Excellent, now go," he pushed the boy forward, "my brother is waiting."

As Lloyd approached the deck, he swung his sword in front, a green band wrapped around the top part of his head. "Uncle!" he cried when he saw his uncle standing just in front. Lloyd ran towards him and wrapped his arms tight around Wu's body.

"Lloyd! It's been a while since I last saw you, are you ready to train?" he asked. Lloyd nodded excitingly.

"He sure is going to be the finest, Garmy," Misako whispered in his ear. Garmadon gave a small tip of the head.

"I'm just glad my brother is back, the last we saw him was at least two months ago."

Misako cleared her throat, "Yes, I know, but we have other things to worry about too. Especially about Lloyd's future; someone in the village told me that _he_ was training someone younger, I –"

Garmadon stopped her there, "Such foolish rumors. Let us just hope that this 'next in line' won't be as horrible as _him_." Misako couldn't do anything else but agree.

* * *

**So, just a little background information you'll either need to know, or I want to share:**

**This is a sort of AU story.  
Cole came upon Dust and is now training under him; learning very powerful magic. (sorta a request from _ZaneTheNinjaOfIce_)  
The reason why I chose Dust and Cole to go together is because of my other two story sequels, I feel like they have a history and... well, you get it, right?  
Jay built Zane - who is in Titanium form- ... which means no Dr. Julien and blah.  
Jay, Zane, Kai, and Nya all work in a small village... while Lloyd stands as the protector - this protector thing will be soon, in the next chapter.  
Dust and Cole don't live in the village.  
Most people refer to Dust as _he_ or _him_ \- you'll see it italicized  
This chapter is just like a beginning, how everything was when they were younger  
No elemental powers, sadly, but there will be things related to that**

**Hoped you enjoyed the first chapter of my new story and please remember to rate and review!  
I would love feedback and anything else, that would make my day!**

**R&amp;R**


	2. Frienimies

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**Many many years later.**

"Look, I just want some apples, that's all."

The woman behind the counter shook rapidly. "No! Get away from me!" The teen frowned and slammed a fist against the counter.

"Lady, just give me the apples! I promise I won't do any harm." The woman's arms left her face and she reached down below her, still shaking. "Stop shaking," he told her. She wouldn't stop. Slowly lifting her arm, she set four apples down.

The raven haired teen reached down in his pockets and pulled out a couple coins. "Here," he said, trading them for the red fruits.

Turning around, he stuffed an apple in his bag and took a bite from the other. He hummed, his teeth sinking down into the apple. He slowly closed his eyes, enjoying the apple all the way until he heard a voice in front of him.

"I thought you weren't allowed back here." The brown eyed boy lifted an eyelid. He laughed.

"It's you again."

"Yes, it's me," the other boy groaned, "let me rephrase what I said before: I drew a line, and you agreed never to come back."

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "I never agreed, I never said anything. Now, can I just enjoy my time here? At least let me finish my apple, Lloyd."

Lloyd swiped the apple from his hands, "Walk with me, Cole," he said, throwing the apple over his shoulders. Cole's mouth dropped. He watched as Lloyd turned around.

With a snap of his fingers, Lloyd flipped the other direction and began walking beside Cole. "No, _you_ walk with _me_," he smirked. "Don't you ever get tired, Lloyd? Tired of always having to drag me out of this little village?"

"You aren't supposed to be in here. Get. Out."

Cole stopped walking. "Should I make things fair?" He snapped his fingers and his wrists were pulled together. "Not enough for you?" he teased when he saw Lloyd's expression. The cuffs disappeared and he took out his other apple.

"I was just buying myself a snack."

"You could've harmed someone!"

"I promised you I would never hurt anyone in this village. Besides, did you see me lay a hand on that woman? No, because I was trying to be polite! You think just because I grew up, living my whole life with that sorcerer, that I'm evil?"

Lloyd fidgeted with his fingers. "You're right, you know. But there's no doubt you'd still _act_ evil. I'll let you pass this one time. Carry on, but you only get a few more minutes!" he said, walking off the other direction.

Cole smirked and took a bite from the apple.

Suddenly, he heard a group of voices coming from behind. Turning around, he saw a group of four: one girl, two boys, and apparently, one android. Cole crept closer.

"Oh, Jay, you're so funny! And so sweet," she cooed, staring into _Jay's_ brown eyes.

The younger sorcerer grinned. He stepped out from behind the stall and walked towards them, apple still in hand.

"What a gorgeous partner you've got there!" He turned to Kai, "Is she your sister?" Kai furrowed his brows but nodded anyways, what harm could it do? "You are so lucky to have such a beautiful sister, I, for one, don't have any siblings!"

Jay raised a brow. "Is that so?" He jumped over the counter and pulled Nya away from Cole, but towards him instead. "Hey… aren't you that…"

Cole stuffed his hands in his pockets. "No need to finish that sentence. I know who I am. Who are you?"

Kai and Jay looked at each other. Not daring to answer, Nya stepped in front, "I'm Nya!" She grabbed Cole's hand and shook it delightfully.

"Jay."

"Kai." He mumbled.

"Zane."

"Zane?" Cole raised a brow.

The silver droid blinked. "Correct, I am a droid. Is that too difficult to comprehend?"

Cole shook his head and took another bite. "Well, would you look at that? Is it time to go already?" he laughed hysterically. "Nice meeting you losers."

And with that, he vanished.

* * *

Cole stood in front of a large door, arched high above his head. He reached in his bag and pulled out a third apple.

He was just like any other teen, just… bad and trained under the most powerful sorcerer in the land. And none of that was normal?

The doors opened and he narrowed his eyes at the guard standing in front of him.

"Cole, you're back… early. Dust wasn't expecting you," the guard noted.

Cole growled and pushed past, storming into Dust's room. The sorcerer looked up. "Back so soon?" he smirked.

"If you hadn't taken me away when I was younger… if you had just left me alone! Everyone in the village hates me now! What? Am I going to become like you when I grow older? Why did you take me? Tell me!" he yelled, anger flashing in his eyes.

Dust shook his head. "Listen Cole, I don't wouldn't want to head this route if I were you; just leave it be, the past in the past. Now come, dinner's ready."

Cole stared as Dust walked out of the room, slamming the door shut. He burst and kicked at the air, throwing his apple behind him.

Things were different now.

* * *

**Okay, short chapter. Had to hurry.**

**Updates on this will be random at times. Other than that, I _will_ plan out a scheduled date.**

**I won't be able to read your reviews right away 'cause I have Track and Field right after this! Yay! Signed up for Shot-put and Sprint, I still need to add two more choices.**

**R&amp;R**


	3. Answers

**Chapter 3**

Cole stared down at his plate. He just let it sit there, not even touching it, like it was some dead animal. Suddenly, he lost sense and began to stare at the food.

"Are you just going to let it sit there? Let it go cold?" Dust's voice asked, snapping Cole back into reality. Dust picked up his fork and brought it up to his mouth.

But Cole didn't respond, he looked up and pushed his chair back. "I'm not hungry," he said and stood up, walking away. Right as he opened the door, he turned around to see Dust raising a brow. Turning away, he closed the door.

Cole headed straight for his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

_"__Like this," Dust instructed him, bending some of Cole's fingers to create a curved hand formation._

After Dust had taken him away, he began to feel safer; but at the same time, not. Dust was mean at sometimes, and that had scared him when he was smaller. But as he got used to it, he became braver; although, he always wondered about his _real_ family; if they missed him.

Time to time, he would learn to become more like Dust. Cole always regretted it.

"I just…" he said softly, closing his eyes.

* * *

"I think we've really been making progress," Jay grinned as he tied the last bag of coins, tossing to Zane's lap. "I'll soon have enough money to make something good enough to impress Nya!"

The droid watched as Jay stared off into space, his eyes just wandering over her name. "What are you planning to impress her with?" Zane asked him.

Jay hadn't considered that thought. He looked down, "Something amazing! Bright and bold! Something that shouts: Jay and Nya! _Jaya!_" He squealed with excitement. He nodded willingly at the droid, Zane tilted his head.

He walked over to the front of the stall and gazed into the trees that stood in front of him, "Hey Zane, remember that kid, about the same age as me, who came up here a few hours ago?"

"Cole," Zane said.

Jay's head shot up.

"What was that?"

"His name was Cole."

"Cole… like, burning coal in the mines and stuff?" Jay joked walking towards the back. Zane blinked. "I'm just messing with ya. Kinda tired though," he paused for a yawn, "You heading to sleep mode of something?"

Zane shrugged. "If I must."

* * *

"Kai, do you think the village will now be safe?" Nya asked her brother, lifting the covers of her bed. Kai shook his head at Nya.

"What do you mean? If _he_ has some sort of trainee, then chances are **_no_**," Kai frowned and fell backwards onto the bed. "But, you can hope…maybe sometime soon something will change for the better."

Nya sighed. "You could be right," she whispered softly.

A second later, Kai jumped and hopped off the bed. "I'll be back soon!" he yelled to his sister, stuffing on his shoes and leaving the house.

Walking down a couple stalls, he came across a large house with lanterns set up nicely around it. She knocked on the door.

Hearing thudding, footsteps, he smiled as the door opened. A boy with blood shot green eyes approached her, sword tied to a belt around his waist. "Kai?" The blacksmith nodded solemnly. He cleared his throat, "Come in."

Opening the door wider, Kai took of his shoes and stepped inside, aweing. "What brings you here late at night?"

"I was just wondering about that young sorcerer you have to keep dragging out of the village."

Lloyd motioned for Kai to follow him. "His name is Cole – and, be very quiet, my parents are sleeping," he told Kai.

"Then, what are _you_ doing up at this hour?"

"Reading comics," Lloyd grinned and turned at a hallway. They stalked pass some rooms until Lloyd took another turn. "My room," he informed Kai, arms presenting the room. "What you want to know?"

Kai sat down on the bed. "Just tell me what you know; you're the protector of this village, after all." Lloyd smirked and sat down in front of Kai.

"Way back when we were all little, my father and uncle were the guardians of this village. They made sure _he_ didn't get in here. When _I_ was younger, I was training to become this villages' new defender. And why was that? Because of the sorcerer who lives at the far end of the forest. _He _was tricky, played mind games – he would use you without you even knowing. He even almost got me, but luckily, my uncle and father were there. Unfortunately, no one was there to protect Cole. No one knew why he was running around the village, but he had bumped into _him_ –"

"Maybe it was _his_ plan. Maybe he wanted Cole to run into him."

"Great share, now… after that, Cole had been living under _his_ rules for the rest of his life. I couldn't imagine being stuck with _him_ –"

"_Poor little Cole_, was what I thought," a voice spoke from the doorway.

Lloyd huffed, "How many more interruptions?" He paused and the room went silent.

"I just heard talking and woke up. Look on the bright side, son, at least it wasn't both me and Misako!" Garmadon laughed and walked in to meet them. "Telling the story I told you ages ago, hmm?" he asked.

"It wasn't that long ago, Dad! More like 10 ish years!"

Garmadon smiled, "That's still quite a while."

"Anyways! Since Cole was now under _his_ roof, _he_ taught him all his tricks; how to become just like him when he grew older. Maybe he hoped Cole would do something evil in his life. Soon, I became old enough to actually take my father's role. I made Cole agree to never hurt anyone in this village, until he nearly killed someone I loved," Lloyd eyed his father. "He kept saying it was an accident, but I added another deal in: **never come back to the village**. He couldn't come in; he couldn't even take a peek. But of course, Cole went against those rules."

Garmadon added, "I believe Cole isn't what everyone thinks; even you, Lloyd. I believe that he is good; he just doesn't want to show it – or at least, all of it. We all know _he_ is yin and Cole is yang. We must give him a chance."

Kai stuck his hand out. "Since when did me coming here lead to this talk about what to do with Cole?" He asked, arching a brow.

"I don't know, but what I _do_ know is that I need some rest. See you tomorrow, Kai." Lloyd yawned, following Kai to the door. "Night."

And the door slammed shut.

* * *

**HEY! I'm back! Didn't leave, just was busy for quite a while. ****My mom's cousin arrived today and we're gonna go shopping and "stuff" over the weekends. Um, might not be able to update then since Avengers Age of Ultron comes out! YAY! Also really busy since Track has been taking up most of homework time aside from Wednesdays. And am planning out movie dates with friends, so ya. You get the idea now. *whispers* and MLP stuff... *little laugh***

**And, ALERT! My collab story with Shinxs will be updated soon! I just gotta get the chapter in, still! Gah, boo me! If your interested in the story, PM me or Shinxs.**

**R&amp;R**


	4. Make New Friends but Keep the Old

**Chapter 4**

_He was kneeling in a pitch black room, a light shining down on him and a shadowed figure. But for some reason, tears were trickling down his face. His eyes trailed over to the figure._

_Suddenly, he felt something spread over his hands… it was cool. Cole's heart nearly stopped when a thought came into his mind. It couldn't be…_

_"__What did you do?" a hoarse voice said from behind him. Cole turned around to see a shadow bowing its head, hands lifted to his face. Another shadow stepped in behind Cole holding a katana in his hands._

_"__How could you kill someone?" he whispered._

_Cole gaped and looked back at the limp body on the ground, then his hands. _

_It was blood._

_"__It wasn't my fault!" He could hear his voice crying out from above, pleading at what he assumed were his "friends". "You have to believe me!" His voice was cracking. What was going on?_

_The shadow behind him lifted his face into the light to reveal the, what was once happy, face of Kai. "Kai?" Cole said softly, but he didn't hear._

_"__I think I remember banishing you from this village… and I think you know why," the figure holding the katana said. "But when you made "friends" I saw this as a chance for you… but look what you've done!" Cole brought his hands close together and pulled them to his chest._

_"__I never knew you had the heart to kill someone," Kai poured out, "Especially Jay…"_

Jay?_ Cole thought – that kid was bright hearted and filled with unlimited creativity; how could he have killed someone like him?_

_The katana raised._

_Cole looked up and suddenly, he was cloaked in darkness._

_He thought he was dead, but instead, he was sitting on carpet, staring at the back of someone. "Dust?" he whispered._

_"__I never knew you had it in you…" Cole raised a brow. He looked behind him and saw a swarm of black crashing towards him. _

_He swallowed._

His eyes shot straight open, and he gasped sitting up, his chest heaving up and down. Cole gripped the ends of the sheet, looking around the room.

"I killed, _Jay?"_ he whimpered. "Stay strong, Cole," he told himself, slowly falling back until his head was against the pillow.

Something was wrong… he'd been having nightmares ever since he nearly killed Garmadon. He remembered what happened during the first nightmare…

**_"_****_Find Cole! He killed my father, now I'm gonna kill him!" Lloyd ordered the people. Kai picked up some weapons from his shop, Jay took Zane out with him, and the other villagers were setting up traps… deadly weapons scattered in the forest._**

**Cole screamed but found himself screaming in reality. A guard was in there, standing by his side. "Is everything alright, Cole?"**

**Cole bit his lip and shook his head. "Do you need anything?" the guard asked. Cole just kept shaking his head. He stared right through the guard, suddenly frozen in place, his blood running cold; the color drained from his face.**

Back in the present, Cole was standing in front of his small table with a tray set atop of it. He reached out and brought it back to his bed. "It was all just a nightmare; hopefully the last one." He stared at the food.

He stuck the spoon in his bowl of cereal.

_Cole eyed his wish list that he had made when he was little._

_#1 – live a normal life_

_#2 – make friends_

_#3 – undecided._

The young sorcerer gave a heavy sigh. He hadn't accomplished any of that… once breakfast was finished, he reached over to the side and pulled out a black cloak. Tossing the hood over his head, he snapped his fingers and found himself in the village.

His eyes gazed around the cobbled paths, _Where was he?_ Cole thought.

"Hey!" a voice yelled from behind, causing his blood to run cold. Cole froze, the color draining from his face. "What are you doing here?" the voice began to settle, but he could hear the source getting closer. The stranger pulled on Cole's arm and tugged him to the back of a stall.

Cole was pushed onto a soft cushion; he drew in a deep breath when his hood was stripped off. Looking up, Cole stared into the curious eyes of Jay. He was dressed in blue jeans and a mucky white _T_. "What are you doing here?" he asked again. The inventor stared at Cole until he gave up an answer.

"I –"

_"__Jay!" a bundle of voices screamed._

Cole flinched.

"Are you alright?" a monotone voice spoke from behind him. Cole spun around and faced the droid who was holding a wrench.

The young sorcerer's eyes drifted to Jay. Inside, he was wishing none of his dreams would become real, he didn't want to kill anyone… he didn't –

"Look, I know you shouldn't be here, but first, let's pretend yesterday didn't happen. I found it a little awkward, especially since you just snuck up from behind and startled us. How about we start over?" Jay waited for a response, but none came. "I'm Jay." The corner of his lips lifted.

Cole played along. "Cole."

Jay beamed.

"Why didn't you turn me over to Lloyd?"

"What do you mean? I know you've lived your whole life in _his_ house, but that doesn't mean you're a bad guy. There's always a good side to people." A smile crept up Cole's face. "Plus," Jay began to add, "I know how it feels to be alone" – his eyes gazed upon the floor – "that's why I built Zane."

"But, I'm not alone! I have everything I need where I live already! I have the power to do anything I want. I'm happy with my life," he told Jay, lying.

Jay laughed. "You're horrible at lying, you know?" Suddenly, he yelled, "Get down!" Cole immediately fell to the ground and leaned close against a wall. Jay marched up to the front of the booth. Zane stooped down with Cole.

He whispered, "Stay silent. Lloyd is here." Cole nodded.

He listened as Jay chatted with the green eyed boy. "Find me," was the last thing he heard Lloyd tell Jay.

"Lloyd was talking about you, told me to find him if I saw you. Though, I assure you I won't." Jay told Cole, a smile worn on his face, hoping Cole with be pleased.

Cole stood up and a thought came into mind. "Why did you pull me over? Did you think I was going to be your friend?"

Jay's expression fell.

"Sorry, but I have to go," Cole said softly, tossing his hood on.

Jay didn't even bother to say –

_See ya_

* * *

**A/N I nearly cried writing this chapter... why? I was listening to the best song ever - See You Again from Furious 7, dedicated to Paul Walker who died two years ago in a car crash. The movie, I saw it last week, but it was amazing! The ending was really tearful and was a tribute to Paul. I felt empty inside. But, I _WILL_ see Avengers Age of Ultron probably next week since it's mother's day weekend. It will be a mother's day gift! YAY! The best one ever, but I still envy others who already saw it.**

**R&amp;R**


	5. Family

**Chapter 5**

"I almost had him," Jay said to Zane. His eyes wandered, "He could've been a friend…"

Just then, Kai barged into the room, holding a plate. "Cole could never be a _friend_, and plus, didn't you say he rejected at the end?" Walking over to Jay, he handed him the plate. It was a peanut butter sandwich.

"I—"

"Lloyd turned red! Remember? Why didn't you just hand Cole over to him so our perfect normal lives could go back to normal?" Kai argued with him.

Jay gritted his teeth. "He didn't do any harm to the village!"

"_Yet!_ Jay, _yet!_" Jay rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, get out, I want to be alone for a little while… you too, Zane," Jay demanded, lifting the sandwich to his mouth. Kai groaned and turned around heading out before Zane.

Lloyd's arms were up on the table so he could rest his head on top. "What're you doing back here?" he mumbled when Kai and Zane sat down.

"Jay wants to be alone. Can't believe you're letting us stay at your place, Lloyd. It's really nice of you, especially after Jay got you mad," Kai confessed. Lloyd turned his head away from Kai. "You'll get Cole; just promise me you'll defeat _him_? I want Nya to feel safe, but there is no such thing as _safe_ with _him_ here."

The protector nodded. He felt sluggish.

"My parents are out," Lloyd spoke. Kai raised a brow. "That's the only reason why I'm letting you guys stay here. I've known you three for a long time now; I decided you should at least be able to stay at my place. After all, I do live in a nice "palace"." Lloyd laughed.

Kai set his head down so he could see Lloyd's eyes. "Thanks."

* * *

Luckily, Cole made it back in the house before Dust noticed he had left. He quickly ran to his room and stuffed the cloak away. Just before he headed out the door, something struck him hard. "Don't feel stupid, you don't need any friends." Cole tried hard to believe himself, but he couldn't.

Sliding down the door, he sat feeling his stomach twist. He crawled over underneath the bed and pulled out a slip of paper. Unfolding it, he read:

_All that matters, is FAMILY_

He didn't know where he had found it, but the paper was just lying on the ground, folded up in the village. He was curious and picked it up, cramming it into his pocket to bring home. Every time he looked back at the words written on it, he felt empty inside.

There were no friends and family in his world. It seemed like a nice thing to have though, and one day, he dreamed of being a part of one; a strong one.

_All that matters, is FAMILY_

He read again. He felt a lump in his throat, he had that chance – to make a friend – but he lost it.

"Cole, you are wanted by Dust," a guard spoke from the other side of the door. Startled, Cole folded the paper again and shoved it under the bed.

"Coming!" He yelled and opened the door, ready to feel owned again.

* * *

"This is gonna take a while."

"What is?" Zane asked.

Jay spun around. "Earning Cole's friendship." He looked down again, "Something just has to happen; something big, something that'll come to end with a bond."

* * *

**Sorry guys! This will probably the second to last or last update until May 16th!  
One, I have the SBA - Smarter Balanced Assessment for these two weeks at school, starting tomorrow.  
Two, next week is Mother's Day weekend and I'll be watching the newest MLP episode AND taking my Mom out to see Avengers Age of Ultron.  
Three, I'll be mostly studying after Track which won't give me much time to update and continue the writing ahead of time.**

**And it's MAY THE FOURTH day! Although Star Wars was originally released May 25th.**

**So see ya!**

**R&amp;R**


	6. the Wrong Idea

**Chapter 6**

"What do you want with me now?" Cole crossed his arms facing Dust.

"I've heard you've been sneaking out… or you did. You also went against Lloyd's rules to keep you out of the village. That, I'm proud of you, but the sneaking out part I won't accept." Cole bit his lip.

His arms dropped to his sides and he looked up to Dust, his brown eyes locked on him. "So, it was just a few times."

Dust arched his brows inwards. "You will not speak back to me," he growled. "Do not leave this place, ever, without my permission." He curled his fingers in front of Cole. Cole could feel himself getting dizzy; the world was spinning around him. Finally, Dust exhaled. "Just for precautions," he smiled. All of his powers were back where they first came from – Dust.

"I'm, sorry," Cole apologized, his voice shaking.

Dust watched as Cole slowly backed away, limping back to his room. Dust turned around, facing a window. "Now, to take care of some things…"

Cole swung his feet above the carpet floor, blinking back tears. All he wanted to get out of this wretched place; he never wanted to see Dust again. If anything, that man was a cruel. He was powerful and tricky.

Living here had confused his mind. Just like earlier today, when Jay was somewhat asking to be his friend; but no, Cole's head was spinning with thoughts, whether to listen and finally make a friend – or to walk away.

He was locked in here. If he tried to escape, he would be held back… caught. He didn't have any escape plan; he couldn't use the magic Dust taught him to free himself because he didn't hold it anymore.

Suddenly, he heard a deep growl coming from his stomach. "Ugh," Cole groaned. Hungry, now? At this time. Cole hopped of the edge of the bed and opened the door slowly. "Guess I'll have to grab myself a snack, _and _get up," he told himself and stalked down the hall.

Surprisingly, Dust wasn't anywhere to be seen; but Cole couldn't use this as a chance to escape. There were still guards all over the place. Finally, he reached the kitchen. His eyes traveled over to a messy counter. _Luck_, he thought and paced over there. Shuffling through the boxes and containers, he found nothing that met his demands.

Heading over to the fridge, he opened the door. There it was, it was just as beautiful as he imagined, just as delicious looking. Licking his lips, Cole outstretched his arms and pulled out the plate. He carefully unwrapped the plastic. Quickly opening he drawer, he took out a fork and sat down.

"It's just you and me," he said evilly at the cake. Five layers, of five different chocolate flavors and dubbed with whipped cream at the very topped – a small cookie centered just precisely. Cole lifted his fork and carved out a piece.

Once it hit his mouth, Cole beamed and devoured the rest in a minute.

* * *

Kai was just a few feet away from his booth when he heard screaming. He spun around and saw a group of villagers caught in a web of purple smoke. _Dust_, he whispered. Running to the booth, he snatched two swords off the shelf.

Nya caught him by surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Stay here, if I don't come back, run… find someone. Just don't come looking for me," he told her and fled the booth. Nya tried to follow him, but Kai had thrown some weapons off the shelves to slow her down.

"Kai!" she cried out after him, watching as her brother disappeared in the mist.

The blacksmith swirled around in the mist, holding his swords before him. "What's going on?" He yelled, seeing that the villagers had disappeared. Looking back, he could see through an opening that the villagers that were stuffed in here and now out of it – were walking around like mindless zombies.

"Show yourself, _Dust_!" he gritted his teeth, his name leaving an odd feeling.

"Kai, is it?" Kai growled. "Easy there, have you heard of my fellow _apprentice_ –"

"Cole, ya, I know him. What? Is he here too?"

"No, no, no –"

"Good, I want him out of my sight!"

Dust came into sight and crept closer to Kai. "Why is that?"

"That _fool_ should stay away from this village! He nearly killed Lloyd's father… and this dream I had, he killed Jay!" Kai was breathing heavily. Snapping out his negative thoughts on Cole, he snapped at Dust, "What are you doing here? Aren't you the reason Cole is what he is?"

Dust dissolved back into a shadow and swiped the swords out of Kai's hands.

_"__Nya!"_ _Kai screamed as his sister was pulled away from him. What was going on? "Nya?" This time, he felt petrified… Suddenly, he heard crackling flames. He spun around and saw a burst of flames._

_Screams and shouts were echoing from it, sending chills down Kai's back._

_Finally, the fire died down and he saw a pile of ashes sitting on the ground._

_"__What did I do?" a voice whispered softly behind him. Kai turned around and saw Cole staring right through him._

_Did Cole kill all his friends? His sister?_

When he opened his eyes, he found himself cleared from the mist. Kai had just seen his biggest fear, and it all started when he saw that fugitive, Cole. Kai looked around; Dust was nowhere to be seen.

Either he was playing mind games, or… Kai shook off his thoughts.

But it felt so real…

* * *

Zane was sitting in the booth, waiting for Jay. It had been an hour since his friend had been gone, but he still hadn't come back.

"Waiting for someone?"

Zane lifted his head. "Jay, what took you so long?" The droid squinted when he noticed Jay's eyes were purple. "You look different… tell me, _what took you so long?_"

Jay smirked. "Don't worry; Jay's busy at the moment." Zane arched a brow. Just then, he woke up in an empty void. He could make out something odd in the distance… he began to sprint towards it.

"Sorry, Zane. But I have a new friend now…" he heard Jay say to him. In less than a minute, he saw his double break down and fall apart. Jay picked up the broken pieces and stuffed them in a bag. Zane's eyes grew wide.

His creator destroyed him; all because he had found a new pal. That couldn't be right, though, could it? Jay would never let go of another friend. But, if it was true… Zane began to fume with anger; he had to take Cole down.

"Hey, Zane!" Fingers snapped in his face. Zane blinked and saw Jay staring at him. "You blanked out, I was worried." However, Zane wasn't listening; a shadow loomed behind Jay. "Hey, buddy…" – Jay lifted a large bag – "went out to fetch some supplies… thought you wanted someone else your type."

Zane forgot all about his dream and poked his head into the bag. Purple, white, and green parts scattered everywhere.

"Yes, thank you, Jay."

* * *

"Cole, where are you?" Dust's voice yelled filled with rage. He opened each door until he found Cole waiting in his bedroom. "Glad you're still here –"

Cole snarled at him. "Why? Because you forced me too? You can never keep me here for long, someday I'll escape this place and you'll be sorry for what you did to me!" Cole crossed his arms and glared at Dust.

"I don't think that'll be possible…" Dust grinned.

Cole gasped.

_"__Kai? What are you doing! Let me go!" Cole begged, his arms struggling against the force of the blacksmith and the droid. He pulled harder but found the two were hard to escape from. A shadow stepped into the light. "Lloyd…"_

_Lloyd gave an evil grin and slashed out a sword. "I've been waiting for this moment." Cole's eyes widened._

_"__Please, please, let me go!" He pleaded at Kai and Zane; but they weren't listening to him. "Where's Jay! Zane! Let! Me! Go!"_

_"__Jay's dead, remember?! Now it's revenge!" Lloyd laughed and raised his sword._

Cole gasped again. "Are you trying to kill me?" He asked Dust once he awoke from his "dream"; but Dust was already gone. Cole looked down at the ground and took a few steps back.

Ten years living with this monster.

Ten years living in a dreaded world –

Was it all gonna end now?

* * *

Lloyd poked the tip of the blade. "You said Cole could be given a chance!" He yelled at his father – "I had a horrible dream, he murdered my friend!"

Garmadon set his hands on Lloyd's shoulders. "He can be good, son. Not everyone is all evil within… if you find him tomorrow, bring him to me. I could try and settle things –"

"Dreams mean something! And this dream was bloody as h— it wasn't great alright! I don't want Jay to die in reality! I want Cole to pay… and Dust! Help me, father… please!"

Garmadon sighed.

"Son, I cannot side with you. Form a band against Cole if you want, but just know that anything that happens is your fault. Doing this will only make you feel like the bad guys and make _you_ feel guilty," he walked out the door.

"Fine! But _you_ know that I _am_ good! I am doing this for everyone! He'll never be good and you know it! You just won't admit it!"

Lloyd sniffed, and then stared at the ground. A drop of blood stained the carpet.

Had he accidently cut himself? Or his father?

* * *

**A/N - Now we're getting somewhere in this story! Yay!  
Everyone had the same dream, or just a dream similar to each other's - Jay died.**

**Everyone but Jay had that dream... where is this leading too? Leave your ideas in the comments.**

**A/NN - Okay, so, one more week of SBA testing... I'll update next week right before I leave to watch Pitch Perfect 2 on Saturday. Promise!**

**BREAKING NEWS: New Ninjago 2015 Ghost Season images have been leaked. Have you seen them yet?**

**I also watched Age of Ultron yesterday! It was amazing and sad when - no spoilers... Would love to watch it again!  
Hope you guys are enjoying the rest of the school year cause we have I think... around a month left until summer.  
**

**R&amp;R**


	7. Battle

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"I called you all over because we all had the same dream, right?" Lloyd looked from Kai to Zane. They both had blank stares. "Or, something very similar… Zane?"

The droid looked at Lloyd and then began to speak: "That is correct. Each of us had a dream that was related to Jay and somewhat connected to _Cole_." He paused. "My dream was of Jay abandoning me; he destroyed me whole because he had made a new friend…" They all knew who that was.

"I dreamed that Cole had _accidentally_ killed Jay; yeah right, like it was an accident!" Kai rolled his eyes and pointed at Lloyd. He confessed he had the same dream too.

"But, why would we have dreams about Cole and Jay? There's a message in our dreams, something about Cole being bad. Is that a good thing, or bad thing?" Lloyd tapped his chin and stared at Zane, thinking hard.

Kai slammed his fist against the table. "It means we have to kill _him_! Obviously, we wouldn't be getting similar dreams coincidentally! We all got them because someone is trying to tell us something, they want us to kill Cole."

Zane arched a brow. "But, why? What harm does he done?"

Kai turned to Zane and grabbed his shoulders. "Your dream will come true! Your life will end if you don't stop Cole!" Kai was determined to get rid of Cole. He absolutely hated him – that stank.

"Kai's right," Lloyd added in. He stood up and paced around the room. "Tonight, we strike. Kill Cole, but first, we need to lure him here. Who's in?" Lloyd raised an arm. Kai's hand shot up like a meteor. They looked at Zane. The droid sighed and raised his arm along with them.

* * *

When Zane got back to the booth, he caught a glimpse of purple. Zane shook his head, he must've been dreaming. "Pixal," he said softly. Where did that word come from?

Suddenly, Jay popped out from the side and hugged Zane. "Glad you're back! I was wondering where you were, I mean, you left early early in the morning." Zane, however, wasn't listening. He kept staring at the droid that was standing there. "Oh, this is Pixal, by the way," Jay added, dragging Zane over to the finished female droid.

Zane opened his mouth in awe. "Is this for me?"

Jay nodded. "So _you_ won't be alone." Zane stared at the droid. Jay built something for him, he really cared for Zane. Was he really going to tear him apart when he made friends with Cole? Zane considered the thought; tonight, he was going to make up his mind and decide whether he was going or not. "You okay, buddy?" Zane nodded.

"Jay, out of curiosity, once you are to make friends with Cole – well, if – will you take me apart?" He asked the inventor. Jay stared at Zane wide eyed and shocked.

"I would never tear you apart, Zane! You're a part of my family! I built you as my very first friend, and that's what you are… I'd never let you go."

Jay traveled behind Pixal and fidgeted with something. Instantly, Pixal turned on, opening her eyes. Zane was entranced by them; they were a bright beady green, and they stared at Zane filling his droid heart with purity. "Someone's in love," Jay whistled and stepped over to the side.

The droid walked forward.

"I am Pixal," the female droid told him. "And you are, Zane, a droid like me." Zane nodded. "What does Zane stand for?"

Zane thought for a minute. He was built to protect and befriend Jay. So, he said: "I stand for peace, freedom, and –"

"She means your name, tin head!" Jay elbowed Zane as the droid gazed down.

"I guess I am just, Zane." For a short moment, they stared into each other's eyes, reflecting off of them both.

"Okay! That's enough… for now, how about you head down to the village and grab us something to eat?" Jay asked, "I was talking to Pixal," he cleared his throat and slowly backed away.

Pixal's eyes lit up. "Of course."

Once Pixal left, Jay turned to look at Zane. "So what do you think of her?" Zane didn't answer; his mind was still set on Pixal. He felt like they were made for each other. "Hello, tin head?" Jay snapped his fingers in front of Zane's face.

Zane snapped out of thought and slowly said, "Yes, she is a great addition for me."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Nya stood up and embraced her brother in a hug, Kai didn't hug back, he just stood there like a doll. "What are you thinking?" she asked her brother. Kai didn't reply either; he pushed Nya aside and began to work on an unfinished sword. "Sorry, am I doing something wrong?" She put her hands on her hips.

Kai wiped the sweat off his face. "I'm fine, Nya. Just thinking of some things…"

"Like what?"

"Nothing, its fine…" Kai kept his eyes on the metal and hammer. "I was at Lloyd's," he spoke up, answering Nya's very first question. Nya's eyes widened. "He called us over for a quick meeting," Kai took the sword out from the burning pot and blew on it, "Me and Zane."

"What was the meeting called for?"

Her brother hesitated, "its fine, you don't need to worry about what we were talking about." Kai set the finished sword to hang and cool off while he stepped over by a sink.

"Why don't you ever tell me anything!? I thought… We're… we can trust each other! Just tell me, Kai," she begged.

"You'll ruin our plan, Nya."

"What plan? What are you three up too?"

Finally, Kai gave in. "We planned to destroy Cole tonight!" He watched in fear as his sister took a step back.

"Destroy… as in… kill?" Kai nodded very slowly. "Why would you do that? Why would you want to kill someone!?" she cried and paced back and forth. Her brother was going insane.

Suddenly, something pinned her shoulders and she was forced to face Kai. "Listen, sis, we all had a dream… _I_ had a dream he would kill Jay. I don't want that to happen to Jay for real… and in order to prevent that from happening, we all agreed to stop Cole… forever."

Nya's eyes began to swell. "I never knew my own brother had the heart to kill someone… who else knows about this?"

Kai stared wide eyed at Nya. Was she going to rat out on them, or help?

"I'm not letting you do this! That dream could be a set up by someone else! Maybe a coincidence, maybe even just a fake because you were scared!" Kai tensed. "Scared that Cole would do more harm, scared that he would take us away from you!" Kai gazed down to the floor.

Nya could've been right.

"I have to fix things," he finally said. "Our conversation ends here."

* * *

Nya took Jay's hand. "He wants to kill… Cole?" Nya nodded.

"We have to stop him! He never told me who he was doing it with, but even by the looks of it, I think I know just who."

Zane stood by the side, eavesdropping on their little talk. _Please do not say my name_, he thought to himself and turned around, gazing into Pixal's emerald eyes.

"Lloyd," she said. Zane waited for her to continue, but she left it there.

"Why would Lloyd…" Jay's voice drifted off.

"You and me, together." Nya stared into Jay's eyes, hoping he would say yes.

Jay nodded.

The droid gave a heavy sigh and walked towards Pixal. "I overheard they were going to stop someone?" she asked Zane.

"Two, actually," Zane said with confidence. He had made up his mind. As Jay and Nya walked out of their little talk zone, they ran into the two droids.

"Love birds," Nya cooed.

Jay arched a brow. "Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" Zane nodded.

"And I want to help."

* * *

Cole paced around the room, trying to find an escape route. This place had to have one, why wouldn't it? He neared the front doors and saw the two guards, standing by each end. How to make them move? If only he had his powers…

"Going somewhere?" a voice chuckled behind him. Cole turned around to face Dust. "You are never going to escape this place, Cole. You're trapped; the only way you'll ever be set free is if you learn why I am keeping you here," Dust gave him a wide grin.

"I already know why! I just won't do it! Now let me out!" He growled at the sorcerer. Dust smirked. "You're always this way… never playing fair. I hate this life!" Cole pulled at the ends of his hair and kicked at the air.

"And you were always how I remembered you," Dust snapped his fingers and something clicked inside of Cole. He stopped and his hands fell to his sides.

Cole rubbed the side of an arm. "I'm sorry…" he apologized again.

Dust just glared at him. "Good, now back to your room." He ordered and watched from the corner of his eye as Cole walked slowly towards his room. "Now, for a little more fun," he chanted and floated over to an empty room. All that sat in it was a post about up to his waist.

He formed a cloud of smoke and looked into it.

His first victim – Kai.

"Go find Lloyd, tell him to lure Cole in with a meeting… tell Cole that you all want to try and be friends, make up for everything," he spoke, putting words into Kai's head. He watched as the blacksmith twitched, then smirked.

The blacksmith peered around the room, making sure it was empty and fled his stall.

* * *

When Kai had finished delivering the message, he and Lloyd wrote it out. "Great, now we just have to get it to _him_ somehow."

Lloyd's eyes lit up. "I have an idea how…" he walked Kai down to the library and pulled out a box. It was empty inside. "This box, it gives anything I put in it to whomever I ask to send it to." Lloyd pulled off the lid and seated the sealed envelope in the middle.

He put the cover back on and told it to deliver the mail to Dust. When he took the cover off again, the letter was gone.

"Wow," Kai said, awed about such box.

* * *

A knock on the door awoke Cole from his nap. "Come in," he groaned. The door opened Dust stepped in. Cole groaned even louder. "Not you…"

"I'm not here to _scare _you right now… I have this," he handed Cole a white envelope. Cole snatched it from Dust and sat up, reading it out loud.

Once he finished, he cocked his head at Dust and raised a brow. "Is this some kind of joke?" Dust stared expressionless, back at him. Cole peered down at the last sentences. "They want me to be their friend?"

Dust shrugged. "Oh, it _could_ be a joke; I would go if I were you."

Cole stared at the letter, his mind swimming with thoughts. "Haven't you always wanted to make new friends, be part of a group… a family perhaps?"

Something in Cole clicked. "How did you know about that?"

Dust whisked out a small sheet of paper. "I found something…"

Cole ran up and ripped it out of Dust's hand. "I..."

"No, no, no, it's completely fine. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," he added and stalked out of the room.

Cole stared at the letter…

* * *

Kai glanced at the clock. "He should be here any minute," he told Lloyd. "But, where's Zane? Shouldn't he be here soon?"

Lloyd shook it off, "Just be patient. Once Cole arrives, we can strike…"

"Lloyd? Kai?" a voice echoed from afar calling their names.

"Shh, it's him…"

As Cole came into view, Lloyd tied the katana around his waist. "Oh, Cole! Glad you could make it!" He greeted the teen.

"Lloyd… get ready –"

"Stop!"

"Now who?" Kai groaned, and kept his sword low enough.

Jay, Nya, Zane, and Pixal stepped out from behind Cole. "Did you bring them with you!?" Kai asked Cole. Cole shook his head.

"We can't let you do this!" Nya snapped at Kai and Lloyd, she pulled out her own swords. Jay pulled out a pair of nun chucks from the blacksmith's shop, while Zane pulled out a pair of shurikanes.

Kai growled. "Lloyd! Take care of them! I'll get, Cole!" Cole stood there, unaware at what was going on. Nya threw him a sword.

"Cole, defend yourself!" Cole nodded and clashed his sword against Kai.

_Kill him!_

A voice shouted in Kai's head. Kai bared his teeth at Cole and pushed down on Cole. "Give it up! I've seen what you can do! And you need… to… go!"

Cole couldn't hold back against Kai. He fell to his knees but kept the sword up in front of him.

"Cole!" Jay yelled and charged at Kai with his nun chucks.

Kai drew his sword back.

* * *

**Woo, this chapter was long! And I finally finished typing it while watching the new MLP episode! So excited today because I'm gonna go see PITCH PERFECT 2! I could've watched it yesterday but I had a Track meet! YAY!**

**I also updated a one shot, if u haven't read it yet...**

**R&amp;R**


	8. the First Stage

**Chapter 8**

The nun chucks against the blade of the sword made a loud clash; and it stayed there, ringing in everyone's ears. Jay pushed back against Kai, defending Cole. His legs struggled to stay up, and slowly, Jay was getting weaker.

Cole turned around and saw Lloyd standing against Zane, Pixal, and Nya. Zane gripped his shurikanes, his eyes narrowing on Lloyd. Nya was standing in front of Pixal holding her sword in front of her, ready for battle. Cole looked to Lloyd, his hands flexed around the hilt of his sword.

He looked back at Jay who was fighting to pull himself up. Cole grabbed his sword from the side and stood up by the Jay, pushing with him.

Kai's eyes widened. "Why are you helping him?" He pushed harder but Jay and Cole were as completely solid.

"I know exactly what dream you had; I know how you feel, Kai. But I would never kill someone whom wants me as a friend… just please, stop," Cole said in a hoarse voice. The force against Kai's sword began to loosen.

"Not until you're gone! I've seen what you can do! I won't trust anybody like that! Especially you!" He hissed and stumbled backwards but kept his balance. "Fight me then, just you and me."

Cole widened his eyes. He raised his sword by his side and charged at Kai. Jay shielded his eyes, _Not a blood bath… please not_, he said to himself.

They clashed swords and met their gazes, holding it there. "Stop it now, Kai!" Cole snapped. Kai's eyes flashed with anger.

"You surrender and I'll stop! You don't know this, but I've seen the future, once Dust's gone, you'll be the most hated in the village! Surrender now!" Cole hopped back and Kai's sword shot for the ground in between them. "Jay, you shouldn't trust this guy! He's evil!"

Jay stared into Cole's brown eyes. "Are you really?" His head began to cloud.

"Jay, snap out of it! All of you! Can't –" Kai kicked his stomach. Cole clutched it and landed on his back, groaning. Pain seared through his body. "Kai… those dreams are fake!" he coughed, "Would I ever kill someone?"

Kai looked at Lloyd; those dreams turned them against each other. "Lloyd!" Kai yelled at him. The blonde stopped and turned to face Kai. "We need to stop! These dreams… we're just tearing us further apart!"

"I know what I'm doing, Kai! Just finish him off!" Lloyd yelled back at him.

The blacksmith pulled his sword from the ground and held it up to Lloyd's neck. "Look around," he said through gritted teeth.

Lloyd's eyes stared back at Kai with fear. "Do you mean… why are we fighting? This isn't right," he threw his sword to the ground and helped up a fallen droid.

"I'm sorry," Kai confessed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't know what came over me. I think I'll give you a chance, Cole."

Nya walked up to her brother and asked, "Well then, why did you have similar dreams?"

Cole blinked his brown eyes. Similar dreams… toying with minds… "Dust; He set you three up to kill me, but why?" Kai slid his sword back in its case. "He took me when I was little, why would he want to kill me?"

Silence drowned in until Lloyd spoke up. "My mom has many scrolls, in fact, that's basically what our library really is!" He patted Cole on the back. "And, we should've known it was _him_, Kai and I just thought that either way, those things would come true; that you really were a bad person."

Cole gazed into Lloyd's green eyes. "Anyone can change."

Then, from the corner of his eye, Cole caught a glimpse of Pixal wrapping something around Jay's arm and (just one) finger. He walked towards them and checked out the bandage. "You okay?" He asked Jay. The teen nodded.

"He was cut twice – on the finger and very close to the elbow; no deep wounds, just cuts. He is fine," Pixal told Cole and hooked arms with Zane.

"I'm afraid of those dreams…" Jay suddenly said softly.

Cole looked at him. "Why?"

"What if they become real? I'm not ready to leave my life yet… And, I just made a new friend," he said, half a smile forming on his lips. Cole looked down.

Suddenly, Cole gripped his shoulders and looked straight into Jay's eyes. "If anything happens, we'll be there for you. Especially me… I just made a new friend, too," he smirked. Jay smiled.

* * *

The rest of the day Cole spent under the roof of Dust. Yup, he felt like he didn't even live there anymore. For now, he was just a prisoner with no way of escaping.

Just then, Dust knocked on the door. "What is it?" Cole snapped, hugging himself with the cloak. For all his life, he had been obeying Dust's every command, and now, he realized just how bad he really was and what Cole was doing to others.

"You want in on a little secret?" Dust said softly, sitting on the bed across from Cole.

Cole shivered. All this was strange. "No! Get out! I've had enough of your mind games! You almost had me killed… and _why_? I don't know! What? Do you just want to get rid of me?"

Dust _tsk_ed. "Oh no, Cole… but you see, that was exactly what I was going to tell you. Don't you want to know why what happened, _happened_?" Cole closed his eyes and nodded. "But first… I'll need a promise from you... never ever leave this place! I don't want you ruining my plans!"

"Then why are you telling me this!?"

"Oh… just so you know what's about to go down… that way, you'll be very aware of _everything_!"

Cole gazed down to the floor. Suddenly, he heard Dust snap his fingers. Cole stomach twisted in worry, what now? He looked down to find his wrists cuffed to a chair along with his legs.

"And, I'll make sure you get front row seats! I just know you'll enjoy the show!"

Cole squirmed. "Let me go you…" Cole jumped in his seat, pulling at the braces. "What is it you want with me? With… with the others?"

Dust fiddled with his fingers. "I realized as I set the others out to destroy you, how badly you wanted a friend. Then, I saw that your friend was really, really happy to make a friend like you – apparently, the others, well Kai and Lloyd specifically, weren't happy with it. When I saw how much you actually cared and how much he actually cared! Well, I – I had something different in mind.

You see, Cole, there was a prophecy. A prophecy that five teens from just an ordinary little village would stand up against me; of course, I wouldn't want that happening… I'm this close to ruling this village, and once that's over I'll head to a bigger population!" He set his hand on his forehead and massaged it as he groaned. "I just knew those five were you, Lloyd, Kai, Zane, and Jay. Well, I had to stop you somehow… and what better way than to turn you five against each other? Unfortunately, my plan failed."

"Is that it? Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

Dust snapped his fingers and a cloth tied around Cole's mouth. "That was when I thought of having them kill Jay instead. If I'm correct, with you out of the way and a stronger hold on the rest of them, killing Jay would be easy. After all, he does seem like the easiest target."

Cole's eyes widened. He tried to scream but with the cloth around his mouth they only came out as muffled cries.

But Dust knew exactly what Cole was trying to say. "Watch me," he said darkly. "And if you leave this room, you'll automatically want to kill him too. So don't even try…"

* * *

"You know, Zane, I've read many great books on Friendship and belonging… I think my life's becoming one!" Zane just nodded as Jay was fixing his wires. Pixal stood by the side, watching the surgery. "Hey, by any chance, do you know where Cole headed off too?"

"No clue," Kai said from behind. "It's like he just vanished. But Lloyd and I agreed, we have to stop Dust. That guy's crazy… Cole will break if he keeps living with him."

Jay pulled off his mask and looked up at Kai. "Do you even know what you're saying?" Kai nodded. "Well, I'm not in this plan… how are we supposed to stop him? He has magic and we don't! We're defenseless against him!"

Kai smirked. "I'm a blacksmith…" he picked up the nun chucks. "I think if I tinker more with these they'll turn out great!" Then he grabbed the shurkianes, "Same with these. Just give me until tomorrow and we'll all have amazing weapons… then, comes training. Under Lloyd."

Jay shook his head. "As you wish," he said sarcastically and got back to fixing Zane.

* * *

**Originally, I was going to end Cole's scene at where Dust doesn't introduce his plan yet... but I thought I fit it in well.**

**So yas! An early update! I am doing this because I don't know why! I might do a second because I have a four day weekend this week. This Friday is LEAP day, so I have my Track meet on Thursday instead, and on Monday is Memorial Day.**

**Enjoy this two update week! (BTW, Pitch Perfect 2 is awesome!)**

**R&amp;R**


	9. Rush Hour

**Chapter 9**

Kai nearly fainted when the room began to get hotter; and he had to live with this every day. His hair, which was usually stuck up and tangled, fell down and plastered on his forehead, gluing to the sweat. Kai gritted his teeth. He struck the metal and stopped for a breath. Using the back of his hand to brush the hair from his eyes, he blew out a breath of cool air.

"Hey, Nya! Where are the nun chucks? I still haven't worked with them yet!" He set the hammer on a work bench and walked out of the _melting room_. "Nya?" Suddenly, he heard wild panting. "What's going on?" Kai arched a brow as his sister sprinted in front of him. She wiped her face with a nearby cloth and inhaled deeply, nearly fainting in Kai's arms.

"Dust… he's back! We don't – no one – he just…" Nya gasped loudly and looked down at her arm. "I was cut badly," she hissed and held it out for Kai to see.

The blacksmith's eyes widened. He dragged Nya into their shared bedroom and sat her down. "Just gimme a sec," he told her and unraveled a long strip of cloth. "It's all we've got close enough to medical tapes." He ripped a chunk off and began to wrap it around Nya's arm.

He gazed into her eyes and noticed she was losing focus. "Rest, sis. You need it," he moved his sister sideways and set her head atop of a pillow. He then turned his attention to the small opening to the outside. "That…" he cursed under his breath and stood up, heading to the weapons and swiping a katana off the shelf. It'll have to do, he thought.

Nya turned her head weakly to Kai. "Kai, be careful out there… last time you were tricked, remember?" Kai nodded, but his eyes set on Dust.

Stomping to the outside, he made a loud noise to grab the sorcerer's attention. "What is it with you and destruction?" Kai narrowed his eyes in.

Dust slowly spun around to face Kai, his eyes staring intensely at Kai.

"I _am_ destruction, Kai! If you want the end of the world, I'll give it to you; you want Cole dead, oh I'll give it to you!"

Kai gritted his teeth in anger. "No one will hurt my friends!"

Dust laughed. "How funny," he crept closer and twirled his fingers above the blacksmith's head. Kai's eyes became a bright purple, matching the same shade as Dust's. His mind began to cloud and he could hear Dust's voice echoing in his head. "Forget me, you want Jay. He's who you're after… isn't he the one that began that friendship with Cole? Isn't that the reason I'm here?"

Kai stared into the distance with an open mouth.

"Kai!" Lloyd yelled, running after him. Dust growled and said a few more words before leaving Kai and heading for Lloyd.

The blond boy stared at Kai. He looked drained of his – "Lloyd, care to join us?" Lloyd pushed aside Dust and shook Kai.

"Kai! Kai, snap out of it!" The blacksmith suddenly inhaled deeply and blinked a few times at Lloyd. "Kai, you okay?" Kai shook his head and groaned.

"No…Dust, he… we're looking at this all wrong."

Lloyd arched a brow and turned to look at Dust. "Kai, no, Dust did something. Whatever you're thinking right now isn't what you actually think… I can't even find the right words to say! Kai, these aren't your real thoughts!"

Dust crept up behind Lloyd as he was shaking Kai. Dust did the same thing to Lloyd and suddenly, the two were struck in a daze.

"Kai, never mind what I said. It's the only way to end things," Lloyd said in a monotone – ish voice. Dust grinned and drifted into a cloud of smoke.

"Perfect, then we both know what to do next," Kai said, smirking at Lloyd.

* * *

Cole's mouth was getting dry and his legs were stiffening. He pulled harder at the braces but no matter what he tried, he couldn't snap them off. All he wanted was out, out from this stupid place – better yet, _away _from this prison. He curled his fingers and pulled again. His strength was draining real quick.

_I need a way out_; he thought and scanned the room. Nothing. THERE WAS LITERALLY NOTHING TO HELP! Cole sighed, when suddenly, a bright flash of smoke appeared in front of him.

He tensed.

"Hello, Cole. Enjoying your little cage?" Dust smirked.

Cole drew his brows in. He wanted to snap at Dust.

Just then, something behind his head formed and he was only able to look forward. "Oh, that, that's just a little something to keep you watching the show; it's still a work in progress, but it'll come up soon… you're favorite channel!" Dust yelled, pretending to act excited.

The image flickered to Kai and Lloyd, whose eyes were haunting, reminding Cole of Dust. "These two already have their parts aid out…" Dust drifted from the scene, "Now, where is that droid?"

Cole's eyes widened. _Not, Zane!_ He thought harder.

"Be quiet, Cole! Unless you want me to rip your heart out! Oh, but then you'd die right there, where's the fun in that? No suffering… no entertainment…"

Cole squinted. Did Dust enjoy watching others suffer? Cole felt stupid; he already knew the answer to that question.

Suddenly, the smoke blackened. Cole felt his eyes stinging. _Not, Jay…_

* * *

Jay shut the panel and wiped the front of it. He stood back and said for Zane to wake up. Pixal stood by his side, watching Zane open his icy blue eyes. "That should do it for now," Jay sighed and threw the cloth behind him. "You're going to have to stay in here for now, Pixal should keep you company. I'm gonna go see Nya," Jay told the two.

Zane nodded and sat up running a hand over his panel. "Pixal, I sense danger," he told her when Jay left them. Pixal nodded her head like Zane.

"I sense some danger here too. And I fear it is heading for Jay," she stared at Zane with worried eyes. She could tell Zane felt the same.

Suddenly, Zane's blue eyes flashed a bright purple. Pixal began to step back. "Pixal…" Zane began, trying to fight against the magic, "protect, Jay." He stopped talking and looked right through the female droid, his purple eyes haunting her.

"Zane," she said softly and turned, running to hide and find Jay.

The droid stood there as Dust fidgeted with his mind. "Kai and Lloyd know it," he told Zane, "you know it… Jay's the reason this all started."

Zane flinched. Once Dust left, he scanned the room.

He needed to find Jay.

* * *

Curling her metal fingers around Jay's wrists, Pixal pulled him out of the stall. "Pixal, what are you doing?" Jay asked her as they walked further into the village.

Pixal didn't answer.

Jay looked at the wrench sitting in his free hand. "Pixal, what's going on?"

Instead, Pixal said in a monotone voice: "Nya has not been affected yet." Jay arched a brow and was pulled harder along the paved road. Pixal marched up to the blacksmith's shop. She scanned she stall, making sure Kai wasn't anywhere near.

Jay ripped his arm from Pixal's hold and traveled inside. "Nya?"

"Jay!" he heard her cry. She stooped off the bed and ran, forgetting her injuries. "Jay, we need to get out of here! Kai's after you… _Dust_ is after you!"

Pixal followed Jay in and stepped in between the two. "Nya is correct. I saw him take Zane."

Jay looked at Nya. "Let's get outta here… do you know anywhere safe to hide?" Nya shook her head.

"We need to move, now!" Nya suddenly yelled. Jay pulled her out, following Pixal. He could hear Kai and Lloyd already back from wherever they were.

_They got almost everyone_, Jay said to himself and felt his stomach twisting. Now, he wished someone were here to protect them, to protect _him_. He didn't want to leave yet.

"Jay, watch out!" Nya yelled.

Too late to react, Jay saw darkness.

* * *

***cries* as I was writing this chapter, I was listening to Flashlight. Sorry... ok.**

**So what do you think happened here at the end? And don't worry... I have everything planned out *evil laugh***

**R&amp;R**


	10. Blackout

**Chapter 10**

Cole didn't want to look, but he was forced to, no matter what. His eyes burned from staring at the battle. He watched as Pixal was held back by Zane and Nya by Kai. Nya was struggling with all her might and begging her brother to release her. Pixal, however, was doing her best to snap Zane out of his trance. Cole's hands clenched and he cried out, but of course, no one could hold him.

Lloyd walked up to Jay and bent down, his head shading Jay from the bright light of the sun. Lloyd narrowed his purple eyes in on Jay and shook him wild. "Get up," he scoffed. Jay squinted and felt himself being pulled up by Lloyd.

_He's just…_ Cole thought and watched as Jay was held in between Zane, Kai, and Lloyd. Jay tried to step back but he was cornered on all sides.

"What's going on?" Jay blinked several times and looked from Lloyd to Nya, to Pixal. He noticed the female droid winking. Jay faked a smile, though inside, he knew what he was doing.

Cole stared, begging inside that Jay wouldn't die.

"Let me go, Kai!" Nya snapped and lifted her leg, sending it to kick her brother's leg. Kai groaned and stumbled backwards, letting go of Nya. "Jay!" she yelled to him.

Jay looked at Nya but was hit in the face by Lloyd. Jay rubbed his cheek and gazed into Lloyd's eyes. _Purple_ was the only thing he could think of.

Pixal twisted her body to face Zane. "Zane, think about Dust and Jay. Know your enemy and know your friend," she told him.

She could feel Zane's grip loosening. Turning to Jay, Pixal nodded. "Great, Zane's coming through," looked at Kai and Lloyd. "Now we just need two more… Nya, I'm gonna need some help!"

Lloyd unsheathed his sword. "Help with what? We all know that this started because you tried to make Cole your friend."

Cole tensed. Did it really?

Jay dodged the swipe of Lloyd's blade and said, "So what, is making new friends a bad thing?" he gazed upon Lloyd with his blue eyes and smirked.

Cole watched as the scene shifted to Kai and Nya.

"Kai, listen to me, Dust is in there, he's playing with your head."

Kai slashed out his sword and gritted his teeth at Nya.

"No, he isn't, sis. He helped me, Lloyd, and Zane see it all clearly now… you're the one who doesn't understand. Once we finish Jay, you'll get it!" he stuffed the sword in front of Nya. "Help us."

Nya's mouth open. She stared at the sword and took it, but held it against Kai's neck. "I'm not going to hurt you, but you need to open your mind! Listen to me!"

The blacksmith let out a small laugh and used his leg to lean Nya forward. The sword dropped and he picked it up, joining Lloyd. "Sorry, sis; your loss."

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Cole's eyes shifted from the smoke to the figure standing at the door. His purple eyes locking with Cole's.

"My plan is failing miserably…" he sighed and walked towards Cole, the smoke disappearing. The cloth around Cole's mouth disappeared and he licked his lips. He struggled to back the chair away from Dust, but it was stuck in place. "Stop, squirming," Dust said, a belt strapping around Cole's waist.

"Get away from me! Ugh… please, please don't go after Jay…" Cole begged. Dust laughed.

Pretending like he didn't hear Cole, he continued saying: "I guess this is where you come in," and snapped his fingers, the belts releasing Cole. Cole stood up and swayed, but held on to the chair.

Cole felt his head clouding… "I'm not… I won't hurt him," he said softly, holding his head.

Dust clenched his teeth. Cole felt his magic getting stronger. "You can't resist, _Cole_… give up! I got your other _friends_ already…"

Cole shot his leg out to kick Dust back, but a shield was surrounding the sorcerer and his leg bounced off. Cole opened his eyes and they shone a bright purple.

"Perfect," Dust flashed a wicked grin.

Jay backed up into a tree, his head darting from side to side, trying to find some sort of weapon against Lloyd. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

Squinting, he noticed a figure just a few feet behind Lloyd. "Cole?"

Lloyd barked and turned around. "Well, well, well, the outcast… glad you could join us, Cole. We were just about to kill your first friend, here."

Cole's brows furrowed in and he clenched his fists. They lit a purple fire, growing bigger and trailing behind him as he walked. Lloyd played with the sword in his hands, then, lifted it to Jay's neck. "Or should I just kill him now?"

"Cole, do something…" Jay said to him.

Cole smirked. "Don't worry, I will…" he glared at Lloyd. "I'll finish him off."

Jay jumped. "What?"

Lloyd stepped aside and Cole raised his arms, magnificent purple streaks flying out and gripping Jay. Jay gripped the purple and kicked his legs. "Let… me… go!" he said hoarsely, the purple gripping him hard around the neck.

Pixal and Nya gasped. Giving Pixal a quick look, she ran up and stabbed Jay on the leg without anyone but Nya to see it. Jay inhaled and collapsed in the purple. The shade faded from Kai, Zane, Lloyd, and Cole's eyes and Cole instantly dropped Jay. He lay there… dead?

Cole bit his lip and ran to Jay, kneeling beside him. "Jay, Jay buddy wake up!" He slapped Jay's cheek but his eyes didn't open.

Kai's eyes twitched. "You killed him! I saw you do it, Cole!" Lloyd looked up at Kai as his voice rose higher.

"No, we were all under Dust's control!"

Zane knelt down by Jay and Cole.

Kai kept speaking as if he didn't hear Cole. "Get out of here! Lloyd, do something about it! We can't trust Cole anymore… because of what happened, I'll never ever trust you."

Lloyd gave Cole a worried face. Did he understand what happened? Kai certainly didn't.

He bowed his head slightly. "I –" he looked at Kai who was fuming with anger, "leave and never come back –"

"And if you ever step foot in this village again, I'll make sure you never see the light again! I don't care whatever Dust does to you! Just leave!" Kai snapped and held the point of his sword to Cole's back.

Cole gulped and stood up, walking slowly out of the village. He gazed down as Kai was drawing something.

"There's the line. And never cross that if you want your life," he said darkly, his eyes flashing with anger. There was no use in telling Kai that he was in a trance to kill Jay too. There was no use for anything.

His whole life had fallen apart just then. He lost a friend. Then friends. And now, he was going back to the same old daily life he had always lived in: a puppet to Dust.

When he arrived "home" he skipped dinner and headed straight for the bedroom. Not bothering to change, he snapped his fingers, and he was suddenly in a pair of pajamas. Tucking himself under the covers, Cole stared up at the ceiling and sighed.

He closed his eyes.

* * *

**Ok... SPEECH TIME!**

**No updates next week, so here's the final one until I think the week after next week. Then, it's no more updates because my laptop will be taken away on the 11th of June (its school laptop)**

**I will find a way to update from my home computer but that's when I have the time. So, right now, what I am going to do is type up the rest of the story and send it to my phone. That way, I can copy and paste from there - it'll be harder, but it'll work out somehow. Although I promise you, sometime when the summer starts, I _will_ get a laptop - my dad promised me.**

**Thus, just for now, this will be the last story I complete until then.**

**You see, I have many many tests and school "things" going on next week since its almost the end of the school year. And around the last one to two weeks of school, I'll be busy cleaning up and making gifts for my teachers. And like I said, no more laptop for me on June 11th.**

**Although, summer isn't always the best time to update because summer is when you'll be spending time with your friends and family... then again - when _is_ the best time? So, yes, thanks for reading! If I have anymore notes I forgot to add in - which I'm sure I do - I'll post a quick Author's Note. So keep the look out and it WILL include this brief summary.**

**R&amp;R**


	11. Alive?

**Chapter 11**

* * *

"I will take the body away," Pixal offered. Kai and the rest nodded, then left. When everyone was gone, Pixal turned her attention to Zane. "Follow me," she told him and picked Jay up.

Zane followed her back to the booth and watched as she laid Jay on a cleared table. "Aren't we supposed to bury the body?"

Pixal ignored Zane and scrambled to Jay's inventions. Finding the right one, she punched it into Jay's side and he gasped, his eyes shooting straight open.

He panted wildly. "How, how'd we do?" he asked her.

"Fine, Jay, although, Cole coming to kill you instead was not a part of the plan."

"Well, it didn't have much effect, right?"

"He was banished from the village."

Jay rubbed the back of his neck and screamed, "What? Why didn't you stop them?"

"No one would listen."

Jay then noticed Zane.

"Oh, right! Zane… uh yeah, I'm alive…" Jay let out a small laugh. "Pixal had sensed this battle coming – yup, she's a lot smarter than you – so, we planned out a way for me to still be alive. As Cole strangled me, she ran up and stabbed me with the shocker, causing me to black out as if I was choked by him."

Zane nodded, following along as Jay still spoke. Finally, he said, "Well, I am glad you are alright. What should we do now?" Jay shrugged.

Suddenly, his eyes sparked. "We need to get Cole back…"

* * *

When Cole opened his eyes, he saw a guard towering above him. Startled, Cole jumped up and scooted back in bed. "What the?"

"Sorry, Master Cole," he bowed and stepped aside for Cole to hop off of. "Dust wanted me to come fetch you."

Cole shooed him away, "Tell him I don't want to be near him… that freak." He walked over to the door and opened it, slowly stepping out. The Guard followed behind. Once outside, the guard kept following him. "Go away."

The Guard laid a hand on Cole's shoulder. "He demands to see you. You better listen to him, Master Cole, things don't go so pretty." Cole clenched his teeth and rubbed the hand off. He began to walk faster, wanting to leave the Guard and have some alone time. "Master Cole," the Guard said in a strict tone.

Cole tensed. "Stop calling me that!" He scoffed and headed into the kitchen, slamming the door.

Cole groaned and turned around from the door. His thoughts froze when he saw Dust standing there. "You should really listen to others, Cole."

"I don't listen to anyone who works for someone who just uses me!" Cole gritted his teeth and stomped past Dust. Then, he added softly, "And tell your guards to stop calling me _Master _Cole; I don't even think I live here anymore." Dust curled his fingers, Cole freezing in place. "Let go of me!"

Finally, Dust spoke, "It must've been hard loosing Jay."

Cole growled. "Don't say his name!"

"Oh, the pain. The horrors watching him die in your "arms"…"

"Quit it!"

Dust didn't stop. "I bet you feel… I don't know, what's that word?"

"Angry! Angry at you!" Cole spat and tried to move.

"Oh, that's right. I set you up to kill him… silly me!" Dust faked a smile and walked towards a cabinet, looking through the boxes and plastic. "Am I sorry? No! It was all part of my plan, and I should thank you, Cole. If _you_ had died instead, well, you wouldn't be feeling what you're feeling right now… sorrow, of losing – no, murdering a friend."

Cole tried to block Dust's words out of his head.

"Just forget about him," Dust said, "forget about friends and family. You don't need any of that. Your "friends" don't even like you anymore… I could help you become the most feared in the land – even more frightening then me!"

At last, Cole was able to move. He gritted his teeth together and glared directly at Dust before disappearing. Dust hissed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Cole sat on the floor by his bed, thinking about all the things Dust had made him done. Suddenly, he sensed Dust behind him. "I don't want any of your stupid words..." he disappeared again.

Dust clenched his teeth.

* * *

Cole stared into the village, humming a small tune. He looked down to see the line that Kai had drawn, Cole sighed and turned around.

"What are you doing here?" a voice spoke from behind him.

Cole spun around and met Nya's brown eyes. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Nya smirked and stepped over the line, walking towards Cole. "Well, I _was_ heading back home… until I saw you." Cole laughed.

"What, you think I'm some sad pup all on my own? Don't forget I "live" with Dust."

Nya punched Cole playfully in the shoulder. "Sorry about my brother, he wasn't _right in the head_. But he still doesn't realize his mistakes up to now. I saw everything though; I know you didn't mean it…" Cole noticed tears swelling up in her eyes. Nya wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Sorry," she gulped, "Just… how about a walk? I need to get my mind off things."

Cole frowned.

"I guess."

"So… don't you wish you could leave that freak – wizard?" Nya asked Cole.

Cole nodded. "Always. But there's no use, every time I come back here, trouble stirs up and I run back _home_… I don't live anywhere else. He practically owns me." Nya heard a sigh escape his lips.

Silence drowned in. It felt awkward. So, she began humming.

Cole raised a brow. "I know that song," he smirked and kicked a rock.

"Really? I thought that since you lived with _him_, that you barely did anything!"

"There's a lot you don't know about me..."

_You're right about that, Cole_.

Cole stopped dead in his tracks.

"Is everything alight?" Nya asked with worry.

Cole held his head lightly. "Yeah… just a small headache, that's all." He flashed a fake smile and began walking again. Dust was trying to get in his head again.

_Do me a favor and kill the girl too, Cole. She's too… oh whatever, just do it._

His eyes flashed purple, but he shook it off.

"Listen, Nya. I gotta go… it isn't safe here… well, near me," he stuttered and took off the other direction. Nya stood there, immobile and left with no more words to say.

As Cole walked towards the house, more like a mansion, he punched his own head several times. "This is what I mean by stirring up trouble," he whispered to himself. Unfortunately, there was no such spell to keep from people getting into your heads.

His head began to cloud again. Limping over to a tree, he leaned his forehead against it and groaned. Dust was doing something, but what?

He sunk lower to the ground, clenching his stomach.

_Don't worry, this won't hurt_…

Cole squinted and fell back.

_He's right; you don't need any friends… who cares about them. You want to be the greatest; you want to be better than Dust…_

Cole slightly frowned. These were his own thoughts.

He couldn't take the pain anymore…

Opening his eyes, he heard Dust yapping beside him. What was going on?

"…everybody has a side of them that hides in the shadows…" he heard Dust say. "I think you just found yours."

Cole snapped, and looked around; he was back in the chair again…

"Finally, you'll see the bigger picture. What I've always wanted you to see" – he rubbed his forehead – "you'll become the greatest villain in this land."

"Let me go!" Cole cried, but found his voice was more harsh than usual. He could feel the anger spreading through him like wildfire. He clenched his fists, the purple fire growing bigger and stronger. His brows narrowed inwards.

Dust _tsk_ed. "Until you admit it. You hate me, you hate them, you hate everything…"

Cole rolled his eyes. What was happening to him? "I don't care about _anything_ or you! Just let me go!" Dust didn't move. "Fine! I hate them; I hate everyone in that stupid little village!"

"How about Jay?"

"I said I hated _everyone_, including him. I don't care for that motor mouth anymore…" Finally, he added, "You already know I hate you more than anything."

Dust snapped his fingers.

"Great." Cole pushed past Dust, "Now, I have some planning to do."

* * *

Lloyd opened the door with a tired look on his face. "Zane, what're you doing here?" he yawned and opened the door wider to see Pixal standing beside him. "Um…"

"We need to talk to your dad," Zane told him.

"Sure, I guess…" he stepped aside, letting Zane and Pixal in. "Just across from my room." With that, Lloyd headed for the bed and the two droids headed for Garmadon.

Garmadon looked up from his book. "Hello, Zane." He raised a brow at Pixal, "Is that Pixal, the second droid Jay built?" Zane nodded. "I am sorry for your loss. What can I help you with?"

"Jay is alive… he planned it. And now, we need your help."

Garmadon laughed. "Are you sure Jay is alive? Maybe because of your grief, you just –"

"Zane is telling the honest truth. Our plan is to stop Dust and get Cole back. Kai has already sided with Dust, and we need more help. Jay believes you will join us?"

Garmadon nodded. "Of course, there is strange magic in this world… Cole must be in grave danger?"

"Is it possible you could convince Lloyd?" Garmadon nodded again. Pixal and Zane then left the room, saying night to Lloyd and heading their way back to Jay.

* * *

***Sigh* My Science CDSAs are over! Yay! I just have one last test tomorrow and I'm done... BUuuuttttT laptop turn in day is this Thursday, along with my Track Potluck! So I'll try to get updates in.**

**R&amp;R**


	12. Dragon's Eye

**Chapter 12**

Cole stared at the board; after five trials, he still hadn't created the perfect plan. He knew exactly what his goal was though – the Dragon's Eye – a prized possession that was left with Lloyd's family, in need of protection. If he could get his hands on that, he could create the perfect disaster.

But first, he needed some people out of the way, and some help – that, he was still stumped on. Luckily, Jay was out of the way – no need to care for him anymore – now he just needed to find someone that could help him get his hands on that Dragon's Eye.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Cole didn't answer nor come near it. It opened and a guard stepped in.

"Can't you see I'm busy, here?" Cole yelled at the Guard, his eyes flashing with anger.

The Guard flinched. "Y – yes, sir… but, would you like anything else?" He peered over Cole's shoulder to see the supplies he had brought him sitting at the table.

"There is one more thing." The Guard raised a brow and Cole smirked, "I want you and everyone else to leave me alone."

"Yes, sir."

Cole rolled his eyes and turned back to the table once the Guard had left the room. Which one was better? Kai or Lloyd? Or maybe Zane… but he was a droid, anything could go wrong if he tried to manipulate or capture him. Cole laid his palms flat on the table and scanned it.

"Stupid!" he slammed his fist against the wood, unexpectedly setting it on fire. Cole groaned louder and snapped his fingers, the table disappearing.

Unexpectedly, something went off and lit smoke up in the air. "Not another one," Cole grumbled and stared into it. He squinted at the scene. Was that, Jay? Cole shook his head. "What date is this?" Cole stared mouth wide open and clicked his fingers.

Standing in front of the village, he searched for Jay.

"What did I tell you about coming back here?" a voice said coldly behind him. Cole turned around not surprised.

Cole smirked and lowered Kai's sword. "Jay's, alive?" he asked, arching a brow.

Kai gaped. "Excuse me?"

Cole's eyes flashed purple, "I asked if he was alive!" Kai took a step back.

"Last I saw you – you weren't like this, Cole," he said in an almost whisper.

"Who cares what I was like before, where is Jay?"

"He – He's dead. You killed him…"

Cole curled his fingers, "I'll kill you if you don't tell me where he is."

Kai gripped his neck, eyes searching. "He – he could be – in – in his booth!" Cole released the hold and Kai dropped to the ground. Picking up his sword, he watched as Cole walked away… Jay wasn't alive, was he?

* * *

Jay was sitting at the table, tinkering with something for Zane when he heard a cough from the front of his booth. Raising a brow, he turned and saw Cole waiting there. He rushed towards him, "Cole, what are you doing here?" he yelled in a whisper.

Cole played with a small spark in his hands.

"When have you been able to do that?"

Cole's eyes flashed with annoyance and he gripped Jay's wrist with the burning hand. "How are you alive?"

Jay bit his lower lip. "Are you mad to see me alive?" he hissed, holding onto the pained arm.

"Fine, don't answer that question. Is Lloyd home?"

Cole let go and looked at the burn mark on Jay's wrist. "Since when do you care? I thought you'd be happy to see me still alive! Apparently, not."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Cole's voice rose higher. "Turns out I don't need any friends or family… now answer my question, is Lloyd home?"

Jay narrowed his eyes and turned his back on him. Finally, he spoke, "Dust did this, didn't he?"

No answer came.

Cole was gone.

* * *

Cole pounded hard on the door, getting irritated the longer he waited. When the door finally opened, Lloyd's eyes grew big. "Isn't Kai supposed to make sure "you never see the light again"?" Cole growled.

"Let me speak to you dad."

"What for?"

Cole rolled his eyes and pushed past him. "Nice house, now, where is he?"

"He isn't home," Lloyd told Cole and closed the door slowly.

"Well, you're just gonna have to leave him a message then," Cole sighed and faced Lloyd, an evil grin worn on his face. Lloyd began to back up.

With wide green eyes, he stooped back, deflecting a punch from Cole. Rolling to the side, he ran behind Cole – who's fist was stuck in the wall – and ran for the door. "Gotta get out," he chanted to himself. Grabbing the door handle, he swung open the door and stepped out, slamming it shut. Wiping his forehead, he began to walk further.

Something had gotten into Cole. Or he was just mad when Kai sent him out. But, what did that have to do with his dad?

"Lloyd!" Cole's voice said in a very strict tone. Lloyd tensed, and then began to run again.

"Oh, no," Lloyd whispered and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Kai! Zane!" He called out. He groaned with agony, knowing that no one heard him.

He spun around to face Cole. "Cole, come on… Kai didn't mean anything he said about –"

"I don't care about that anymore!" he crept closer until he was as close as could be. He gripped the collar of Lloyd's uniform and growled. "Just tell your dad that I'm here and I need it… got it?"

Lloyd nodded.

Pushing Lloyd back, Cole walked away.

* * *

"It?! What's it?!" Lloyd panicked, holding his head as he marched in front of his dad.

Garmadon tapped his chin… "Lloyd, I have figured it out – but you must not tell anyone about it. Not even your friends. They could put themselves in grave danger to just protect you, if they find out."

Lloyd arched a brow at the book Garmadon pulled from under his bed. "Dragon's Eye – This is a very valuable and powerful stone, son. It was used and crafted by my father… Wu took his turn to hide it, and now me. But if it falls into the wrong hands, dangerous things could begin to happen."

Lloyd's eyes peered over the page. The stone was like a small pendant, and exquisitely carved. Lloyd awed.

"That is what Cole wants. However, I am not sure if Cole only wants it to help himself, or if Dust set Cole up to get it for him." He looked up at Lloyd. "Promise you won't tell anyone and that you will do everything to help protect it?"

"I promise."

* * *

**YAY! I found a way I can update on my phone! Before I handed in my laptop, I transfered EVERYTHING and I mean everything, including pictures and projects and documents, to Google Drive. From there, I can edit my documents - like this one! Yaya!**

**Soooooooo**

**R&amp;R**


	13. Surprises

**Chapter 13**

Cole felt the power getting stronger. Dust's magic was working after all. He couldn't tell if it was a bad or good thing, but he did know that once he got a hold of the Dragon's Eye, he would be stronger then Dust; his plan was set after that - get rid Dust and take over the village.

So if Jay was alive, he would have to get rid of him again, but this also included getting rid of the others... But he couldn't harm Lloyd, he was the key to helping him get the Dragon's Eye.

Cole's eyes wandered, how could he use Lloyd? Of course, he had powers now... He just needed to tap into Lloyd's weak spot.

Next, what he needed was a plan to get rid of Jay, Kai, Nya, and Zane. He then remembered something, there was another droid with Zane the other just got harder.

But Zane and that droid were robots. They could be rewired.

Then, his plan was set - for Jay.

He would pit Zane and the other droid against Jay.

Kai loved his sister with all his heart, and what better way to break him, than kill Nya or use her as bait.

Now things were easy.

* * *

Jay sat by Zane and Pixal, fidgeting with a wrench. He couldn't believe Cole let Dust get into his head - but then again, the more power, the more it gets into your head.

"Do not worry, Jay. I am sure Cole is somewhat fine." Zane laid a hand on Jay's lap.

"Somewhat fine? I saw him and he definitely wasn't happy to see me! Mixed emotions and opposites only lead up Dust! He took a friend away from me... He really does ruin lives," Jay sighed. "Now all Cole worries about is power." He set the wrench down and stoo up.

"Hey, Jay." The young inventor looked up to find his brunette standing in front holding a sack bag. He pulled out a paid if polished golden nun chucks. "Here, these are yours. Sorry I forgot to give them to you earlier... With Dust and all. And then I thought you were dead!" He stalked forward and patted Jay's shoulder. "Glad to see you're okay."

Jay let out a small laugh and he looked over the nun chucks. "Wow," he awed. It was beautiful. The gold was shined real well that even your reflection seemed to good to be real.

"How's Zane's look?"

Kai pulled out two shurikanes. Jay whispered something, admiring the weapon.

"Hey, Zane," Jay called and tossed him the pair.

Zane stared at his reflection. Pixal gripped his hand.

"We start the fight tomorrow." Kai turned to Jay, "I gotta go find Lloyd. And, don't worry Jay," he began - he noticed the worry look on Jay's face - "If we fight Cole, I promise you that he will come back."

Jay shook his head slowly. "Yeah, after all... He made a promise never to leave my side."

Kai hugged Jay and then ran his hand through Jay's reddish brown hair.

Once Kai left, Jay sat back down on the bed, his eyes never leaving the door. Zane placed a hand on Jay's lap.

Jay could feel tears beginning to streak down his face.

* * *

Lloyd reached for the door. "This is yours," the brunette said, handing Lloyd a sleek silver sword.

Wu walked up beside Lloyd. "Oh, you must be Kai, come in," he told him.

Kai stepped inside and noticed Garmadon resting on a couch. Misako sat next to him, her head resting on Garmadon's shoulder. "Are you Lloyd's uncle?" Kai asked.

Wu nodded. "I am only here for a few days. My brother called me for some emergency. Have a seat, tea?"

Kai shrugged. Lloyd shot his uncle a look. After permission, Lloyd took Kai by the wrist and dragged him into his room.

"My dad said I couldn't talk about this to anyone but my family. And I consider my friends my family... But he still didn't allow it. Uncle Wu does though," Lloyd smirked. Kai raised a brow. "Cole's after the Dragon's Eye. A powerful artifact crafted by my great grandfather. I need you to tell the others, that way, we know what we're doing here."

Kai stared intensely at Lloyd. He nodded. "Good," and he dragged Kai back out to the small table for tea.

"I heard that you four... Or five are going to fight Cole tomorrow. That is what Lloyd told me yesterday nodded again. Interesting. I would love to this..."

"No, I won't let you come. You could get hurt."

Wu chuckled. "But what you didn't know about me is that I have caught for many ages. Tell you what, I will help. Fix me up the best sword you've got and I'll meet you with Lloyd."

Kai blinked. "Okay..."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I have to get back to Nya!" He fixed his eyes on Lloyd and then shook Wu's hand. "Thanks and, uh, I'll get that sword ready."

* * *

"Nya! Oh, thank goodness you're still here!" Kai wrapped his arms around his sister.

"Actually, I was just at Jay's a few minutes ago. How come I don't get a weapon?"

Kai froze. He rolled his eyes. "Not now, I have to get a sword ready for Lloyd's uncle."

"Lloyd's uncle?" He snorted. "Isn't he too old to fight?"

"Believe it or not, he's tough enough."

Nya shook her head and stood up. "Its getting late Kai, and you still haven't had any dinner. I'm heading to bed. Don't stay up to late," she told him.

Kai pulled out his hammer. Yeah, yeah. Night, sis."

She had already left.

* * *

**Yay! Another update. Okay, I MIGHT update during the summer. But not to often.**

**and, have you guys heard about the new summer LEGO NINJAGO sets? If so, which are you planning to get first? Mine will be the Jay Walker One. One mire question: have any of you seen the clip on CN where Nya unlocks here true potential?**

**NEWS: series airs in the US on June 29th! Sets air in the US on August 1st!**


	14. a Spark

**Chapter 14**

Battle day:

Kai was polishing and sharpening his golden sword. Testing it out on dummies Jay fixed up for him.

Nya had taken Kai's job, _blacksmithing _swords and tools and weapons of all sorts.

She sighed heavily whenever she saw Kai dressing to get ready for the battle.

Jay was trying out his nun chucks while Zane was practicing to use his ninja stars. Pixal stood by the side, careful not to get in the way.

Lloyd swiped up his sword and joined his uncle at the door. "You sure you're ready for this?" He asked Wu. The old man nodded.

He opened the door and stepped outside. "Be careful Uncle." Wu stopped and signaled for Lloyd to be quiet.

"You hear that?" Lloyd shook his head.

Suddenly, Wu was strangling Lloyd hard enough that he would've died. Lloyd gasped for air. "O - Okay... That's... Enougggghf." Wu released his hold on his nephew and stared.

Lloyd breathed for air. "That's great to know."

Wu smirked. "Never judge a book by its cover." He bonked Lloyd on the head with the staff he was holding.

Once they reached Kai's, the blacksmith tossed Wu his sword. Wu handed it back to Kai.

"What? You said you needed it!"

"Now, you're mind is sharper then before." He said and slammed his staff to the ground. "Come! We must find Jay and Zane."

Kai winced then turned to Nya. "Stay here. And stay out of trouble. Just work normally..."

"Work normally? Pfh, isn't that what we used to do until Cole came into our lives?"

Kai motioned for her to zip her mouth shut.

When they finally reached Jay's stall, they found the front empty. "Zane?" Lloyd called into it.

"Maybe they backed out." Kai stooped his head in.

"They couldn't have."

Kai shrugged, "Jay would've. He wouldn't want to fight Cole. After all, they are friends."

Lloyd gritted his teeth together. "Well, if he did back out, then he needs to snap out of it. This is for the sake of the village and us. Plus, we could probably get Cole back," he paused, "I just don't know how."

"Maybe we could show Cole that he isn't him... To be exact, it _is _Dust who placed the influence on Cole."

Kai, Lloyd, and Wu turned. "Zane!" Kai yelled with relief. Lloyd hugged the droid.

"I wouldn't miss the fight. And it's just as you said Kai, Jay won't go."

"Well, tell him we need him. Maybe he could knock some sense into Cole," Kai snapped.

"I hear ya," Jay said softly, coming out from behind Zane. "What's he after anyway?"

Lloyd shot Kai a glare.

"You haven't told them yet?"

Kai stepped up, "a powerful artifact crafted by Lloyd's great grandfather. The Eye of the Dragon's."

"The hawaba-wa?" Jay asked, shaking his head.

"The Dragon's Eye," Lloyd corrected. "My father doesn't know whether he wants it for himself, or whether Dust is using Cole to get it for him. We also don't know when Cole will strike."

Jay rubbed his arm. "Doesn't that mean we should be at your house _actually_ defending it?"

Lloyd's eyes widened. "By golly you're right! I was so blind! We have to hurry, my parents won't be able to hold Cole back long enough!"

* * *

Garmadon stood by his bed, swords of all sorts hanging on the walls.

"Garmadon, dear, don't you think you should get out a little? You've been in here for quite a while now."

"I would, but Lloyd hasn't came back. You remember that "assistant" you told me _he _had? Well, that assistant is after the Dragon's Eye. We must protect it."

Misako's eyes grew wide. She joined her husband's side. "Where is Lloyd anyway?"

"None of that matters now, give me the Dragon's Eye," a cold voice snapped. The couple turned their attention to the door.

"Cole," Garmadon said through gritted teeth. "If you want it, you'll have to get through me first.

Misako snatched a sword of the wall. "He means _us."_

Cole let out a low chuckle. "You're all so gullible." He raised an arm and aimed at Misako, he swung his arm to the side causing Misako to go the same way. Garmadon furrowed his brows and picked up Misako's sword.

"No one does that to her," he growled and began to charge at Cole. Cole smirked and tossed Garmadon to the side. He began to walk towards the bed.

"There must be a reason you two were standing by the bed." He checked under the covers. Nothing. He looked under the bed itself. Cole grinned. "This all seemed to easy," he said softly to himself. "Where is Lloyd?"

Garmadon dusted of his arms and stood up. "You will not lay a finger on my son!"

Cole bit his lower lip. Looks like his plan had altered a bit. But getting rid of the gang was still important. They could come to stop him any minute.

"Step away from my parents," he heard Lloyd say, a small hint of fear in his voice.

"I got what I needed. I could just leave right now. But where's the fun in that?" Lloyd looked at Kai, then Jay.

Cole slowly turned around. Suddenly, he raised a brow, "Who is that?"

Wu stepped out from the middle. "The correct question is, who are _you_?"

Cole kept his brow arched high. What was that suppose to mean? He looked at their hands. Lloyd and Kai both were holding swords. Jay had himself a pair of gold nun chucks and Zane held a pair of golden shurikanes. "You think you can defeat me with those?"

Jay took a step back.

Cole's eyes searched the group. There was no sign of Nya and Pixal. He sighed, the plan wasn't going as planned.

Kai pushed Jay forward. "Go," he whispered to Jay.

"Cole," he began.

"What's this supposed to be? Some sort of diversion?" Cole scoffed and began to walk towards them.

Kai kept his eyes on Cole.

"Cole. Just listen," Jay tried again.

Cole clenched his teeth. With a snap of his fingers the whole room shook. Everyone flew to the walls; they were stuck, glued to them. Then, Cole snapped his fingers again sending a signal to Zane.

Jay opened his mouth but Cole raised his arm. Jay began to rise higher, suddenly, a board appeared beneath him. It looked death-defying, its spikes ready to pierce Jay any minute. Then he realized what was happening. Cole was going to trap Jay against the ceiling and crush him with the spikes. He wasn't going to die this way.

Sucking in a deep breath, he spoke loudly, "Look at yourself, Cole! Look at what you're doing! Can't you see Dust has what he wants now? I'm you friend! You're my friend! You promised to be there when I needed help, and right now, I do need help. But the one person who so kindly made that promise isn't here, because he isn't the same person as he was before! Look _around _you..."

Cole glanced around the room. It was all true. He looked back at Jay, the spikes were just inches away from his body. Cole balled his fists and pulled his arm down. The spikes disappeared and everyone fell off the walls.

"I...I'm sorry..." Cole dropped the orb and began to flee the room. Jay stared. Kai elbowed him.

"Go get him!"

Jay blinked and dropped his nun chucks, running after Cole.

"Cole! Wait!" He cried, running after him. "Cole!"

Cole shut his eyes and kept running. _Just don't look back, _he told himself.

Jay hesitated. Beginning to speed up, he tackled Cole to the ground, pinning him down.

"What's wrong with you?!" Cole shouted, kicking Jay off. "You'll get hurt!"

Jay stood still. "No I won't, and you know that." He sensed the others coming up behind him.

"Not much of a fight if you ask me," Kai laughed, laying a hand on Jay's shoulder. Lloyd came up holding the Dragon's Eye.

The inventor kept his eyes on Cole. "Yeah..." Cole took a step back.

Wu stepped forward. "It's okay, Cole," He started, "come. Lloyd and I will take care of you for now."

Cole nodded and walked up to Wu. Jay gripped Zane's wrist and pulled him away.

* * *

"Here... You can sleep in my room for now. I'll sleep with my Uncle," Lloyd motioned for Cole to head in.

Cole shook his head. "I couldn't. It's yours, I'll find somewhere else."

Lloyd stared at Cole with worry. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Lloyd sprinted to get it, but his uncle beat him to it.

"Jay, what brings you here?" Wu asked.

Jay rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just wondering... Maybe Cole would feel more comfortable if he stayed over at my place. After all, he does know Zane and I more better."

Wu stroked his beard. Lloyd turned to face Cole. "He does have a point." Cole bit his lower lip and looked at Lloyd's room.

"Sure, and take your bed, Lloyd." Cole smiled and took one last glance at the single table by the couch. There sat the Dragon's Eye.

Cole stared curiously at it. What type of power did it hold? To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure... The thought just came to him when he wasn't in his right state of mind.

A hand waved in front of his face. "You ready to go?" Lloyd asked Cole. Cole nodded.

Jay waited by the door, and surprisingly Zane was there too. "I'll stop by tomorrow to make sure everything's fine," Lloyd told Jay as they began to leave.

Jay let Cole sleep in an extra room he had. He had Pixal provide Cole with the right necessities and Jay himself would check up from time to time.

It wasn't usually him, but ever since Cole came, he felt partly changed.

"I have a drink to hand Cole," Pixal told Jay from behind. Jay stepped out of her way.

He watched as Pixal came up to Cole and handed him the drink.

It felt weird having someone stay at your booth, someone you don't normally hang with.

His eyes widened when he saw Cole nearly choking back tears. He could hear him whisper to stay strong.

Pixal was sitting next to him.

It must've been about Dust.

"I just hope I didn't hurt anyone," Cole said softly.

* * *

Zane wasn't sure what came over him, but every time he saw Jay he felt the urge to strike him just at that moment.

Robots... Or in this case droids, were set with targets, and they wouldn't stop until their mission was finished. But for some unknowing reason, he felt as if his mission had included Jay only. And this didn't lead up to anything good.

Every time he saw Jay and anything sharp, Zane felt his hands reaching out to them.

Snapping back to reality, he trotted over to Pixal.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Zane nodded.

"Something just came over me." His eyes lit up, "We are... Compatible?"

Pixal smiled. "We are."

* * *

**Update! Yay! I'm already really close to finishing this story... And I'm glad... Because its a really good one. And remember this is an AU. There'll also be a surprise around Chapter 16 I think. It'll shock you - it shocked me.**

**Funny moment: on the day I bought the airjitzu Jay and my brother bought airjitzu Zane, he made these horrible puns... Gah, believe me. They were awful.**

**And I sent the news out to AwesomeAuthor13 already, but if you all remember I did a sorta Ninjago MLP thingy, WELL I'm bringing it back! YAY!**

**Questions: you on summer vacation? Some people have summer vacation at different times, that's why**


	15. Long Gone

**Chapter 15**

"This here is my lucky wrench. I've had it ever since I was a kid. My parents gave it to me, knowing that I had a talent for inventing... I haven't let go of it since," Jay explained, holding up a rusted old wrench.

Cole raised a brow. "Where are your parents?"

"Oh, they didn't believe I could open my own shop here in the village - so I ran away... Kinda. And I built Zane here. Then, Kai and Nya came along, and we became good friends. A few weeks later, Kai introduced me to Lloyd... We've been a group of friends for quite a while now."

Cole faked a smile.

"I visit my parents once in a while. Its not like I hate em. How about your parents?"

"I ran away from my dad. Ran away here and bumped into Dust... Which was a big mistake. I haven't really had anything my way with him. I never was able to think for myself - though, he taught me to stay strong, how to control myself. Sometimes I wished I never ran away, but then I wouldn't have met you and everyone else," Cole smiled wider.

There was a ding up front.

Jay stood up.

"Lloyd!"

"Just came to check up on you four," he grinned, patting his hip, the hook of his sword jingling.

Wu stepped out from behind. As did Garmadon.

"You two came too?" Jay asked, squinting his eyes. He set down his lucky wrench and fist bumped Lloyd.

Zane eyed Lloyd's sword. He felt a strange sensation creeping up.

Cole looked over at Zane curiously. Then, he turned his attention back to Jay and Lloyd.

"I misjudged you, Cole. Sorry bout that," Lloyd said, handing Cole the sword from his belt. "It's for you." Cole took it and stared...

"Thanks."

He quietly set it down by the wrench and shook Lloyd's hand.

"I will forget about yesterday, but if you lay another finger on my son -"

Lloyd cut his father off right there. "Heh, he's real protective."

"So, what'd you do with the Dragon's Eye?"

Wu stepped forward. "We hid it in a safe place... Do not worry. I have it safe with someone you'd least expect to have something powerful..."

Lloyd smirked. "Dareth."

Jay froze, then burst into a fit of laughter. "Great... Real smart, Lloyd! No one would ever think Dareth had it."

Cole pursed his lips. He had no clue who Dareth was.

Zane reached for the sword at the table. He felt as if he wasn't in control of his own body. Dark magic was holding him captive. He scanned the weapon - it was brand new. Looks like the new was just about to get dirty.

Jay kept laughing, he wiped his eyes and began to walk up to Lloyd. Then, he froze.

Lloyd blinked. "Jay?"

The inventor looked down at his blue shirt... It was turning red.

"Jay?" Lloyd cried once more.

Cole looked behind Jay. Zane stood there, with wide eyes, a bloody sword on the floor beside him. Cole's eyes widened. He had forgotten to pull Zane away from his mission to kill Jay.

Jay coughed and fell. Cole caught him, weakly, in his arms. "Jay?" His eyes scurried, "its spreading fast... Where did you hit him, Zane?" Cole yelled, tears beginning to fill in his eyes.

Zane stepped back. "I didn't know what came over me. His... I was aiming for his heart."

Cole panted wildly.

Lloyd knelt down beside him. "Don't worry Jay... We'll get help. Just wait."

"L - Lloyd.." He coughed, then began to cry. He tried to sit up. "I was going to see my parents tomorrow," he coughed between each word. "I wasn't ready for this..."

Lloyd hugged him. "Its okay, Jay... relax."

Cole's bottom lip quivered. "This is all my fault!" He cried, "I cast that spell on Zane... I sent him to kill Jay. But it wasn't supposed to happen - I -"

Wu walked over to Cole. "It wasn't your fault, Cole. You were under Dust's influence."

Cole stared at Jay. His face was turning pale.

"We have to do something!" Lloyd shouted. Garmadon walked outside of the booth and ran around the village to find Kai and Nya.

"Jay! Stay please! You _can't_ die on us. Please, no, no, no!" Lloyd stared into Jay's eyes.

"Tell me a joke, Lloyd..." He heard Jay peep.

Lloyd gathered his thoughts. "No. Instead - once upon a time, there was a young inventor named Jay. He lived a great life... But it all changed when a certain sorcerer came into his life. A new friendship had begun... And... And... The days passed and they -"

He noticed Jay's eyes fluttering. "No! Don't shut your eyes! Don't you dare shut your eyes!"

Cole scooted backwards. Wu crept close to him. "Cole, relax..."

Kai approached the stall, his sister and Garmadon standing beside him. "Jay!" He yelled and knelt by Lloyd. "Jay!"

Nya hugged Jay's body tight. "Please Jay, I love you! Please stay! I won't feel complete without you. I need you!"

She planted a kiss on Jay's forehead. His eyes tried to keep open.

"Nya?" He said hoarsely, "I love you too, Nya... Kai will take care of you. Promise me you'll take good care of her, Kai?" The blacksmith nodded, tears streaming down his face.

"Where's Cole?" Jay asked.

Lloyd gasped. "Don't talk... The blood loss is massive..."

His eyes winced at the pool of blood underneath Jay's body.

Wu pushed Cole lightly over to Jay.

"Jay, I'm really sorry... I really am."

"I know you didn't mean it."

Cole tried his best to smile. But his lips disapproved.

"Take care of Zane and Pixal... Run the shop for me. And stop by at my parents... Please?"

Cole shook his head. "I can't, you have to! I have no experience with tools and tinkering... I don't even know where your parents live!"

"Zane knows. Trust me."

* * *

Dust shook his head at the scene.

"I really am sorry," he said softly, running his hand against the orb.

He could sense Cole's pain. How hard it was to loose a friend. In fact his first friend.

Dust floated over to Cole's room. He searched it for anything he thought Cole would've wanted to keep. When the one box was packed and set outside the door, Dust clicked his fingers and the whole room lit on fire.

He watched as it all slowly burned down. The sight was horrifying... When usually it would've been amusing.

"Guard!" Dust snapped.

A guard quickly approached his side. "Yes 'sir."

"I'll be leaving tomorrow... Just for a few hours. Prepare a meal for two before I come back. Understood?"

The guard nodded.

"Perfect."

* * *

**Surprise! Dust changed! Did this surprise you? Well, if so, the next chapter will too.**

**And I'm sorry Jay that I killed you. I needed it to make this story work. Its a FF on friendship and family... I'm sorry, it was just the major part that was needed. Real badly.**

**Now, you guys get to tell me when to update! I only have two more chapters after this, so ya... If you want an update the next day, sure! I'll take whichever suggestion has the most "votes" on.**


	16. Do You Care?

**Chapter 16**

Cole sat alone in Jay's empty room. It just didn't feel the same without him.

"I know how hard it must feel to have lost him," a familiar voice said from in front of him. It was someone he never wanted to see again, but at the same time did.

He pulled out something from the box. "Here, Jay's lucky wrench. Its yours now..." Cole took it and held it close to his chest. "So, the funeral's tomorrow?"

Cole shook his head. "No, its today..." He sobbed. Then threw himself forward. He didn't know why he was _hugging_ Dust, but what he did know was that he wasn't gonna feel any better soon.

Maybe just being as sad as he was caused him to do whatever he thought of first.

"I'm really truly sorry..."

Cole wrapped his arms tight around Dust's chest and sniffed. The memory of Jay's death just wouldn't get out of his head.

He stared down at the floor.

"I know I wanted him dead before... But now I see it was the only family you ever had before." Dust said.

Cole blinked.

"How about this, you eat lunch at my place, then you can go and attend the funeral..."

"It's gonna be a while. We all agreed to gave dinner together afterwards..." Cole sighed.

Dust cocked his head.

"Can't you just use your magic to bring him back?"

"I could... but things - life doesn't work that way. If Jay was meant to die now...Then that's it. I'm sorry, Cole."

Silence drowned in... Then Cole said:

"I just wasn't ready for any of this... So, are you _good_ now?" Dust shrugged.

"Depends," he grimaced and stepped away from Cole. "Let's go... I already had a guard set up lunch."

* * *

"Welcome back, M -"

Dust shot the guard a glare.

"Welcome back, Cole." He corrected and bowed, opening the doors.

"Thanks," Cole said softly and headed for the dining room. He took a seat by the end and slouched, staring at his empty plate. Dust came over and patted his shoulder.

"Cole? Where's my son?" Cole heard a voice yell. Dust noticed Cole's reaction and motioned for the guard to bring him in. Lou, Cole's father, stood by the guard's side. "Cole! Oh... I was worried ever since you ran away!"

Cole ignored his past thoughts and ran to his dad. "I'm sorry, dad... I just... I don't know what I was thinking... What are you doing here?"

"I told him to come," Dust said standing up.

"You?"

"I knew how much pain you must've felt... I decided you needed to see your father again."

Lou looked at Cole with worry. "What does he mean?"

"I made a friend, dad. But, he passed away... He died," Cole felt tears beginning to blur his vision again. Loud hugged his son.

After a few more minutes with his father, Lou left.

Cole looked at Dust. He wasn't the villain anymore. There was no villain anymore.

"Eat up. I'm taking you to the funeral." Cole stared at Dust with disbelief. "Don't look at me that way. I'm only doing this _parentally_ thing for today... Tomorrow you're living with Zane and Pixal."

Cole faked a smile. "I just thought you actually cared now..."

"I do. But you don't belong here. I kidnapped you when you were little, which was wrong." Dust continued to eat.

* * *

Cole spotted Jay's parents just a few feet away from him. Crying their eyes out. He wanted to shuffle over, but he was caught and stuck in between a sobbing Kai and Lloyd.

"Ugh, Kai... Lloyd, please move," he said through clenched teeth. Lloyd wiped his eyes with his sleeve and stepped aside, pulling Kai with him.

Finally free, Cole swooped by Jay's parents. "I'm sorry about your son," he told them.

The woman dried her tears, "Oh, thank you dear..." She looked over Cole. "You must be Cole, Jay's mentioned a wee bit about you to us."

The man gripped his wife's hand. "Nice meetin' ya, son. I'm Ed and this here is Edna. Jay was a great kiddo... I just can't believe he's gone. Say, did ya get his lucky wrench?" Cole nodded. "Oh, do us a favor and keep it safe? We love that kid, but you look like you need it more."

Cole raised a brow, then realized what they meant. More tears were coming out. "Thanks," he sniffed and pulled it out. "Your son was a great friend. I'm gonna miss him too."

_"Once in a lifetime, means there's no second chance," _Cole heard Dust whisper in his ear. Cole blinked back more tears. It was true...

"It was nice meeting you," Cole finally spoke out, shaking Ed and Edna's hands.

At the end of the funeral, Cole walked up to the casket and set a hand on top of it. Lloyd crept up beside him.

"You ready to leave soon? Its time for dinner..."

Cole nodded slowly.

"Once in a lifetime, means there's no second chance," Cole repeated softly... Gazing at Jay's framed picture by the casket.

* * *

**Tada! Surprise! AU, Dust _cares_ for Cole! That's it for the A/N**


	17. Accenptance

**Chapter 17**

The days passed and Cole was starting to feel a little better. Before then, he would talk to no one, other then give Jay's parents a visit. Zane and Pixal would try their best to run the shop on their own, but things were going unpleasant.

Time to time, Nya and Kai would stop by to help fox things up; sometimes even Lloyd.

"How's Cole doing?" Lloyd asked Zane one day.

Zane gave him an assuring nod, "He is coping fine."

Kai came up and winked, "Hey, Zane, how's it feel to run Jay's shop?"

"I've helped many times before in my life, things are going swell for me, but not as much for Pixal."

Pixal then came up and held a box of some of Jay's other belongings. "Here, Cole does not want them." She turned to Lloyd, "I hope you can make some use of them."

Lloyd laughed. "Make some use of them? These are Jay's belongings! The guy - friend - who died right in my arms! I'm not gonna use them, I'll just keep them safe at my house. But, thanks," he took the box from Pixal and walked out into the village.

"Guess he's gone. Me out too," Kai gave a small laugh and followed Lloyd out the door.

Every so often Dust would come forth to Cole when no one else was around. And Cole was slightly happy about that news.

The man who used to be his enemy now wasn't. And it made him feel a little happier.

"How's life treating you, huh?" Dust smirked, tinkering with the lucky wrench on the table. Cole's eyes scampered.

"Not so well, if you ask me." They both laughed. Then, his laugh began to fade. Dust raised a brow.

"Something wrong?"

Cole shook his head. He'd been having thoughts about things for the pass days since Jay died. One of them included suicide while the other was convincing Dust to turn everything back to the way it should've been: he lived with Dust, where nothing good went around.

Zane and Pixal ran Jay's shop. And the same with Kai, Nya, and Lloyd.

Sometimes, Cole regretted those thoughts. He even thought about thievery.

"I know what you're thinking." Dust spoke up. Cole lifted his head.

"I need some fresh air," He then stood up and left the room. Dust shook his head.

Cole stormed past Zane and Pixal, making his way outside. He noticed a pair of two feet standing in front of him.

"We know you are still mourning because of Jay, but we are here for you Cole. He isn't the only family you have..." Cole looked up. He was indeed beginning to feel much better.

Zane outstretched his arm, pulling Cole up to his feet.

Out of the blue, Zane was pulled into a hug.

* * *

**Finished! The story's over! ~ be sure to tell me how you liked the AU in the comments/reviews and thanks for reading!**

**I really enjoyed writing this, especially since it was my first AU! Don't worry, I have more stories in mind! And my other stories WILL be updated. Just soon. Pateince.**

**Also, I wrote an exclusive sorry only on Wattpad about Dust! Go ahead and read. I'm not stopping you.**


	18. Checkmate, What's Wrong?

**Okay, I know this story's been completed for weeks now, but I decided to add a little Epilouge/Extra chappie. Sorta like the Hasbro Studio shorts for LPS and MLP.**

**So enjoy, and like what I was doing, I recommend reading the first part while listening to the song Find a Way from MLP FiM Magical Mystery Cure.**

**OH AND I SERIOUSLY MEAN AGAPE NOT EROS**

* * *

"Checkmate, I win again," Zane told Cole, a grin on his face.

Cole stared at the chess board stubbornly. He shook his head and picked up one of his pawns, gazing over it. "I don't get it, how did you win?" He paused, "Again..."

Zane picked up the black King piece and showed it to Cole. "The goal of the game is not to let your opponent get your King. I cornered your King, thus letting him move nowhere as I have successfully won the game. There was nothing your other pieces could do, and nothing your King could do." Cole squinted and eyed the board.

"I think I get it... But I'm still not quite sure." Before Zane could explain anymore for the fifth time, Pixal loomed over the pieces, turning her head to Zane's.

"There is someone out front who would like to speak to you, Zane," she told him.

"What about me?" Cole asked out of curiosity, his eyes wide in the question. Pixal shook her head. "Oh... Okay," Cole looked down to the ground, feeling a little empty hearted.

Just because the others had seen a change in him, doesn't mean everyone else in the village tagged along.

So, Cole took the time that flew by to stay hidden in the booth. To the villagers, it seemed like a crime for Cole to just waltz in there. If he ever needed to go in or get through, Zane came with, trying his best to assure everyone that Cole was indeed safe to be around.

Cole turned his attention to the front of the booth, his eyes settling on Zane and the stranger at the counter. He had slick black hair, and a pair of round glasses propped on his face. He was wearing a black turtle neck with a very coat over it, he matched that with a pair of grey khakis. The man seemed to be in a wheelchair... Cole had never saw him before in his life.

"Is something wrong, Cole?"

Cole had forgotten Pixal was even there. "Oh, umm, no. I'm fine," he lied and reached over to gather up the pieces back in the bag. He rushed himself, hoping to get away as soon as possible. He didn't want Pixal, or anyone in fact, asking him anymore questions. "I have to put these away..." He said again, walking away with the board and bag in his hands.

Once he was a few feet away, he let out a sigh of relief and opened the door to his not to crowded room. After Lloyd heard Cole was staying with Zane and Pixal, he and Kai got to work building him a room to stay in. Zane and Pixal had their own beds in the booth, for when before Cole even came. Dumping the things onto the ground, Cole plumped onto his bed.

Dust hadn't come to visit him anymore after his best friend's death, Cole frowned at the thought, so he had nothing better to do than help Zane and Pixal around the shop. Other than staying indoors. The once crazy purple eyed sorcerer must've felt bad about what he did and decided to stay away from him.

"Hey, Cole!" A voice whispered from beneath him.

Oh, right.

Lloyd also had Kai install a small secret passageway in the back. Cole rolled over and poked his head out from the side of the bed, meeting Lloyd's eyes. Cole helped him up.

"What - what are you doing here?" Cole stuttered. He just wanted to be alone for now.

"Wanted to stop by and give you this," Lloyd said, handing him a small box. "But, while I'm here, I might just stay a little longer." He grinned.

Cole bit his lower lip. "Well, I wanted to be alone for a little while..." He said softly, setting the box on a table by the other side of the bed.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

Cole didn't answer.

"You haven't came out for a while now... Come on, Cole... Why don't you have dinner with over at my place with Kai and Nya?"

He still kept silent.

Lloyd gazed downwards. "I guess I'll leave you then," he said sadly and headed out from the front of the booth, but stopping to greet Zane, Pixal, and the stranger at the front.

Cole hung his head down and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't feel like opening the present right now. He didn't feel like going to that dinner. He didn't feel like asking Zane about the man he was talking to. He didn't feel like doing anything.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Cole turned his head and blinked, was that Jay? No, it couldn't be. He was... Gone. He blinked again.

It was just Zane.

_Stupid imagination_... Cole growled in his thoughts. _You led me to believe I could get away from Dust. You caused all this from the beginning..._

Cole turned his head to continue staring up at the ceiling.

"Brother, are you feeling alright?" Zane questioned Cole with worry in his eyes. "You were fine a few days before. Is there something wrong, Cole?"

He didn't reply again.

Zane walked forward, sitting on the bed by Cole. "Tell me, Cole. You must let your feelings out."

Cole rolled over to his side. "I just want to be alone right now, Zane."

"I understand, but Lloyd told me you didn't look very well."

Cole turned around, sitting up. "I'm fine, okay? Just leave me alone!" He cried, glaring intensely at Zane.

"I... Understand..." The droid stood up and began towards the door. He kept his back to Cole.

"Zane, I'm sorry! I just -" before he could finish, Zane was already out the door. Cole's problems were just growing worse. He reached over for Jay's wrench and clutched it close to his chest.

Outside, Pixal looked at Zane with eyes filled with worry.

Zane shook his head glumly.

* * *

"What do I do, Jay?" Cole whispered, staring out of his circular window. It was raining outside. He looked at the wrench, saddened.

"You can start, by saying 'hi'," a deep voice said from behind him. Cole turned around, his eyes widening.

"Why didn't you come before?"

Dust picked up Lloyd's little gift and handed it to Cole.

"Like I said during that dinner, after what I did to your life, I made my decision never to come back... But you really need Jay, don't you?"

Cole shook his head. "It's not just that. The whole village still hates me."

"Wipe that frown off your face. You have friends that like you just the way you are. So what if the rest of the village doesn't like you? You've got great friends and a great family." Dust stretched an arm out to Cole, handing him the gift. "Never forget that."

"Cole, you in there?" He heard Kai's voice ask through the wooden door.

"Uh, just a minute!" Cole looked back at Dust, then the gift. He took it and stared at it.

"Its your choice, Cole." Dust clicked his fingers and disappeared out of sight.

Cole set down the gift and stood up, still holding the wrench, and opened the door. "Hey, Kai."

"You feeling better? You definatly look like it," Kai smirked. His gaze settled on the wrench. "Its been two weeks since you know, and your still holding that thing?"

Cole raised a brow. "And that's supposed to mean?"

"It means you can't get over the fact that he's gone," Kai paused then continued, "and that you care."

Cole was stunned. "Are you saying...? Cause I'm not."

"No, no, no. You care for him in... What's the right word... The agape way. See what I mean?"

"Oh. Could've said that before cause you were sounding a bit... Well, what you were saying was beginning to get weird."

"I'm known for that. So are you coming to the dinner tonight over at Lloyd's place? Zane and Pixal are going. They said they were going to close the shop early if you were coming. If not, you were to take over."

Cole thought about it. He was feeling up to the invite now. "Sure." Kai grinned ear to ear. "By any chance, did Zane ever tell you who he was talking to up there?"

Kai shrugged. Then said, "I think his name was Cyrus... Cyrus Borg. Said Jay came over once. He stopped by to ask Zane a few questions. Why?"

"Just curious. Never seen him before in my life."

Kai elbowed Cole playfully. "That's what you get by living locked up with a evil dude all your life." They both laughed.

Once Kai left, Cole fell back in bed. What to do next to pass time until the "big" dinner? His eyes drifted over to the box and a smirk crept up his face. Cole picked back up the box and began to unwrap it carefully.

He wondered what was inside.

After removing the green ribbon, he lifted the lid.

It was a book... And a pen?

He lifted them out of the box.

The pages were blank.

Noticing there was a note slipped in between the pages, he took it out and read it.

_To, Cole: to write your own story_

_\- Lloyd_

He started with:

_I miss you, Jay..._


	19. AnnouncementCatBear

**Hey there readers! If you loved this AU FF well do I have news for you! I just posted a Short oneshot that goes along with this on my DA account! If you are interested in reading ir, my DA name is in my bio...**

**Now, I can't just post this - so I'll add a oneshot I also have on my DA page!**

* * *

"Hey, Cole, look what I found in one of the drawers," Jay busted into the room, flashing a silver brooch in Cole's face.

The Black Ninja snapped out of his cake thoughts and raised a brow at the small artifact. "What is that?" He sat up in bed and hunched over the brooch, grabbing it from Jay's palm.

"Fancy, huh? I found it lying in one of the drawers - "

"Let me stop you there, why were you searching in the drawers?" Cole asked, a curious spark in his eyes.

Jay rubbed the back of his head. "Well, to be honest, it was in your drawer."

Slowly, Cole's face began to turn to red. "What were you doing in my drawer?" He hissed angrily, curling his fingers and gripping the brooch until his knuckles turned white.

"I was trying to look for my Cat - Bear," he sighed with an innocent look on his face.

"First of all, what's a Cat - Bear? And second, what makes you think I have that... thing?"

"Well, I did search Kai's drawer too, but I figured, he'd never take one of my things unless it was a prank. Then I was about to check Lloyd's but knew, he was still training. He'd be too busy to even take something of mine. Zane, well that's quite obvious... So, all signs pointed to you and it was pretty clear you'd take something belonging to me."

Cole felt his face get redder. Jay seemed to know everyone on the Bounty super well.

This had to be a joke.

"Okay, I get it. But seriously... What's a Cat - Bear?"

Jay took the brooch from Cole's hands and wrapped his fingers around it tightly. "A Cat crossed with a Bear. Duh! Haven't you ever heard of hybrids?" Cole rolled his eyes. "I won it at the Carnival last week." Jay plainly stated, annoyed.

"Well," Cole began, standing up from his spot. "I'm sure you'll find it. I'll help!" If it'll get me some quiet time faster, Cole added in his thoughts.

They both headed out of the room, Jay humming to himself a happy tune.

"So, how does this thing look like?" Cole asked Jay with a head full of random images of what a Cat - Bear may look like.

"Weeeeellll," Jay began, "My Cat - Bear has two arms and two hind legs. Oh, and a head!" He smirked.

Cole rolled his eyes, "Right, very descriptive."

"It's about this big, has a long catty tail, not bear tail… Lemme think, the eyes are not cat like, the ears are also not cat like… Oh, and the lower half with the exception of the tail is all bear! The head is cat, except for the ears -" Cole clamped a hand over Jay's mouth.

"I get it."

He checked every room, not bothering to ask whether Jay already checked the room before. He walked into the kitchen and checked its drawers and cabinets. Then he checked the bathroom tub and side cabinet. But the Cat - Bear still wasn't there.

"Jay, I'm starting to think -"

"Found him! Oh I missed you Jay Jr.!" He hugged the plushy with joy and threw the pendant behind him, hitting Cole as he walked into Jay's room.

Cold face palmed. "He was in your room the whole time?!"

Jay shrugged.

"Well. Makes sense since I named him Jay Jr.."


End file.
